The Pair In The Park
by LolaLoo
Summary: When skeletal remains are found in a local park, Booth & Bones struggle to find answers and end up stuggling against each other. Can a killer be found before Booth leaves Bones for good? [Sequel to Man In The Lecture Hall] BBHA Chapt 20 up. Bad summary...
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bones or anything to do with it. But just wait till my evil plans come to fruition... One day I tell you, one day!!**

A/N: This story is a sequel to the story I wrote a month or so ago called 'The Man In The Lecture Hall'. It can be read without reading the first but I suggest you do (if only for a little ego boost for me) because I might reintroduce some characters I created for that.

This chapter was altered significantly 28th November. If you originally read this before then, please scroll to the bottom for an extra treat! Thanks for reading.

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Night had descended slowly, shrouding the park in total darkness. The children's laughter had long been sent to bed, the swings now hanging still in the playground.

He waited patiently, making sure that everyone had left and the coast was clear. He didn't want to be there, he didn't want to be doing the things he had to do but he knew there was no other choice.

_This is the only way. I can't protect them if I don't this, I won't be able to keep them safe. This is the only way._

Sitting cross-legged in the dirt, he looked up through the rustling branches swaying above him, straining to see the stars. Somewhere from the hazy depths of his memory, a female voice echoed through his thoughts.

_When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you…_

A tight smile briefly crossed his lips before it slid away as he watched the stars disappear behind the silver clouds. With a heavy sigh, he clambered to his feet and stared through the trees at the park around him.

_Such a beautiful little place. So many wonderful memories._

The moonlight glinted against the trail of the solitary tear sliding down his cheek. Wiping it away angrily, he got to work.

_oo00oo_

Temperance Brennan was exhausted. Every muscle in her body ached and complained, while her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool.

Attempting to stifle a yawn, she watched her partner from under heavy lids. His eyes were bloodshot above deep dark circles, his shoulders tense and his mouth a tight line across his unusually pallid face.

With his head in his hands, Booth was staring down at the file in front of him but from the unfocused glaze covering his eyes, Brennan knew he wasn't really reading it.

"Booth, I think it's time we called it a night."

He jumped at the sound of her voice breaking through the eerie silence of the deserted lab. He blinked rapidly before hiding an enormous yawn behind his hand.

Slowly, he nodded.

"You know what, Bones? You're right. As usual… God, I hate paperwork."

He slammed the file shut and slid it away from him across the table. Clambering to his feet somewhat unsteadily, he turned his tired eyes back down to her.

"You alright getting home?"

She nodded as she gathered up her things.

"I'm going to call a cab and just leave my car in the parking structure for the night. I don't really trust myself driving home when I'm this tired."

He looked down at the keys in his hand, shaking his head a little. He threw the bunch up in the air, catching them and sliding them in to his jacket pocket in one slick move before flashing Brennan his best charm smile.

"Mind if I share the cab? I don't really fancy waking up with my car wrapped around a tree."

She grinned back at him as she headed towards the stairs.

"Of course. Give them a call and I'll just drop this stuff in the office."

She disappeared across the platform as he leant against the railing, pulling his cell phone from his pocket to ring a taxi. Staring down at the silent lab shrouded in darkness, the dim light seemed to make his partner's hair glow, almost giving her a halo as she wandered in to her office.

_She really is beautiful._

The line connected and he turned his attention away.

He had become an expert at ignoring the strange fluttering in his chest he often felt when she was around, he had taught himself to ignore it and pretend that there was nothing there.

Turning away, he didn't see his partner looking back up at him from the shadows, a faint smile on her lips.

_oo00oo_

The gentle sound of snoring from the back seat caught the taxi driver's attention, though he had to strain to hear it above the growl of the engine.

Glancing in the rear view mirror as he came to a stop at the red light, the driver couldn't resist a broad smile.

The couple he'd picked up at the Jeffersonian were now dozing behind him. The beautiful and familiar looking woman was leaning against the well-built man beside her, her head resting against his shoulder. The man's arm was draped casually across her lap, her auburn hair ruffling with his every breath.

The driver turned his attention back to the road and moved away from the lights.

_They really do make a beautiful couple. They remind me of how me and the wife used to be all those years ago._

Heading towards the first address they had given him, he couldn't help but wonder why two people who were clearly so perfect together weren't already living together.

_Maybe they're one of those religious couples with all that no sex before marriage stuff._

Pulling up in front of the building, the driver cleared his throat loudly and purposefully. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty as he watched the pair begin to stir in the back seat.

They both looked somewhat embarrassed finding themselves wrapped around each other, their eyes looking anywhere but each other. The woman began to root through her handbag, mumbling something about paying her half while the man waved her off, practically pushing her out the passenger door.

She paused, half out of the car to turn back to the man she had travelled with. The driver looked away, staring through the windscreen to give the pair some privacy, though his ears strained to listen to how the couple would say good night.

Hearing nothing, the driver risked a glance in the rear view mirror to find the lady passing the man some money. He rolled his eyes but dutifully took it, obviously aware that there was no point arguing with her. She nodded at him with a tight smile as she clambered out.

Pulling the door closed behind her, the man flashed his lady friend an enormous grin. She returned the smile through the window and he watched as she marched up the steps towards her building.

The taxi driver turned back to the man, checking the second address. Pulling away from the curb, he couldn't help but ask his passenger what the deal was.

"So, things going well with your girlfriend then?"

The muscular man raised his tired eyes to the mirror to meet the driver's own.

"Excuse me?"

"You and your girlfriend. You seem very much in love."

The man blinked rapidly and shook his head.

"Oh, she's not my girlfriend. We're partners. You know, _work_ partners."

The driver attempted to suppress a smile.

"Of course, sir. My mistake. If you don't mind me asking, she looks rather familiar."

The man nodded absently, obviously having had this discussion plenty of times before.

"She's an author. She wrote that book 'Bred In The Bone'."

The driver's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"You mean, that was Doctor Temperance Brennan?"

The man just nodded as he stared out the window. The driver shook his head in disbelief.

"Just wait till my wife hears about this."

Frowning, he glanced at the passenger's reflection again.

"So… Does that make you Agent Andy whatever his name was?"

The man grinned as he caught the driver's eye.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. My name's actually Agent Booth."

"Oh, the one she dedicated the book to?"

The man's smile widened and he nodded before turning his attention back to the scenery whizzing by, his expression somewhat wistful.

They drove on in silence for a few minutes before the passenger cleared his throat loudly. The driver glanced in the mirror, finding the man frowning deeply and obviously struggling to find the words he wanted to say. Eventually, he seemed to give up and returned to just staring out the window again.

Pulling up outside the man's building, the driver watched as the passenger stared up at one of the windows and frowned as the light switched off. The man sighed heavily as he dug through his pocket for his money.

The man clambered out of the cab and the driver couldn't resist leaning out of his window to talk to the FBI agent as he handed over a twenty.

"Thank you sir. And if you don't mind me saying, you can't choose the people you fall for but you should never resist it. Sometimes that means hurting others but to be honest when love's as obvious as it is with you and Doctor Brennan, trust me, the people around you will already know."

With that, the taxi driver roared away in to the night, watching the imposing man shrink in the rear view mirror. He just hoped the man had listened.


	2. Discoveries

**A/N: Thank you for your reviews. If you originally read this before November 28th, please give this and the first chapter another read as I've changed a few significant details. Sorry, but it was necessary for the big things I have planned... You'll just have to wait and see what that entails! Thanks for reading.**

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Booth wandered through the Jeffersonian in search of his partner, rubbing his tired eyes. She wasn't in her office or answering her phone. No one he'd asked had even seen her yet that morning.

He frowned as he glanced at his watch. It wasn't like her to be late.

_Mind you, we did have a late night with all that paperwork. God, did Cam chew me out when I got back… Serves me right for forgetting our dinner plans. No wonder I got the couch. Even so, Bones is never late._

His mind dwelling on the night before, Booth couldn't help but think about what the taxi driver had said to him.

_He said it was obvious that me and Bones were in love. Which is completely ridiculous because that's not true. Sure, I like her and I respect her. We're friends and we're partners. But that's it. Nothing more. I mean, I'm with Cam. And Bones… Well, I'm sure she's doing just fine on that front too._

As if on cue, Brennan practically sprinted through the automatic doors of the lab. Booth couldn't keep the amused grin off his face as he watched her stumble along, dropping her things and getting more and more flustered.

He strolled over to help her pick up the contents of her handbag, following her in to her office with an armful of files and crime scene photos she had scattered across the floor. Dumping the pile on to the sofa, he perched on the edge of her desk and grinned at his partner.

"You alright there, Bones?"

She glanced up from the files she was rearranging on her desk, her eyes red and puffy from tiredness.

"Yes, I'm fine, really. There was a power cut in my building last night so I assume that's why my alarm clock didn't go off."

She sighed heavily, running a hand across her face to try and wake herself up as she shook her head.

"I hate being late, especially when I've not had enough sleep. It throws everything off."

Booth nodded sagely as he folded his arms across his chest.

"So, are you so 'thrown off' that you're considering a personal day?"

Brennan straightened up, hands firmly on hips as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I hope you are not trying to imply that I'm unable to do my job when I'm tired. I am perfectly capable of doing my duties, thank you very much."

Booth grinned as he pulled a pen drive from his pocket and threw it in her direction.

"Good, because we've got another case."

Brennan arched an eyebrow as she caught it, booting up her computer and uploading the files. She glanced at her partner who was leaning over her shoulder to look at the photos.

"What's the context of the find?"

Booth leaned back a little, his charm smile gone as he switched to work mode.

"A large park in the suburbs was undergoing some routine landscaping while the children's playground area was being extending. During the excavation of a small section on the edge of the trees, workmen uncovered skeletal remains."

"So why is the FBI involved?"

"It turns out that the wooded area on the edge of the park backs on to public works which, as you know, are Federal property here in DC so the local cowboys kicked it up to us."

Brennan nodded as she scrolled through the photographs, examining the partially revealed remains.

A skull protruded from the dirt with sections of the rest of the body revealed in other places. A hand sticking up through the ground, a knee, part of a leg… Brennan narrowed her eyes at the screen as her gaze patrolled the findings.

"Well, these remains aren't fully skeletal yet. I'd have to check with Hodgins about the insect activity but by the level of decomposition, I'd say that this person has been dead around eighteen months."

She double clicked on the photograph of the skull, zooming in to get a better look. Suddenly her computer screen was filled by the image of discoloured bone covered in a thin layer of dirt and what was left of the victim's skin and musculature. A small beetle seemed to have taken up residence in one of the eye sockets.

Beside her, Booth's lip curled with slight disgust at what he was seeing.

"Uh, thanks for that Bones, but did you really need to zoom in that much? I mean, I had a good enough view of all that before and I've only just eaten breakfast."

Brennan glanced briefly at him, a tight smile on her face.

"Getting squeamish, Booth?"

She could see him straighten up out of the corner of eye, his face a little indignant.

"Hey, just because I don't consider bones and goo to be God's gift to the workplace like you squints, it doesn't mean I'm squeamish."

Brennan just smiled as she returned her attention to the screen. Booth suddenly realised he was watching her intently and not the photographs.

_She really is beautiful, especially when she's concentrating like that… Stop it! That's your partner you're thinking about. You damned idiot…It's all because of that stupid taxi driver. He put all these crazy ideas in my head about her…_

His partner's voice brought him crashing back to reality and the case at hand.

"From these images, I can tell you that the victim was between 25 and 29, male, was in a car accident about five years ago and has played a lot of sport, most likely baseball. I need to get a better look at the bones to come up with a definitive identification and a cause of death."

Booth took back the pen drive that Brennan handed to him and jumped to his feet.

"Well, what are we still doing here then?"

Brennan pursed her lips but dutifully marched off, throwing a half-hearted glare at her partner as he held the door open for her. Booth grinned, his hand gently resting on the small of her back as he led her towards the automatic doors.

"And seeing as you're so tired, Bones, I guess we'd better forget the usual arguments and skip straight ahead to you letting me drive."

Brennan just sighed as he chuckled, tossing his keys in the air with a wink and a smile.

_oo00oo_

The air was bitterly cold outside, the few remaining leaves hanging precariously on the autumnal branches as Brennan marched across the frosty ground below. Booth marched along beside her, matching her step for step as he always did, rubbing his hands together to try and keep them warm.

_He seems different today. The way he looked at me in my office earlier… Temperance, stop it. You're tired and it's causing you to overanalyse everything. Save your overly-attuned critical eye for the work, not your colleagues._

They soon reached the yellow crime scene tape attached to the tree trunks and stretching off in to the open area, police and forensic officers milling about within its borders. Booth flashed his badge at a group of officers and held up the tape for Brennan to pass.

Rounding a group of coffee-drinking detectives, Brennan got her first good look at the crime scene.

A small bulldozer had been left mid-operation beside a pile of earth, a large trench reaching up to her feet. In the hole below, a good four feet down, were the remains she had previously seen in the photographs. In context though, something wasn't quite right.

Frowning, she carefully lowered herself down under Booth's watchful eye. A detective wandered over.

"Agent Booth?"

He turned, offering his hand which the officer shook warmly.

"Yes. And you are?"

"Detective MacKinnon. I'm guessing the lady in the hole is our resident crime-fighting author?"

Below them, she straightened up and nodded at the detective, her brows knitted together in concentration.

"Detective, have you or anyone of your men attempted to remove these remains?"

Looking more than a little indignant, MacKinnon arched an eyebrow at Booth who simply shrugged.

"That's just how Doctor Brennan says hello. She's very work orientated. But did anyone, you know, touch anything?"

The Detective looked mildly placated as he shook his head.

"No m'am. None of my boys touched a thing. The workmen though, they said that they climbed down in that hole to get a better look. At first, they just thought they'd hit a pipeline that wasn't on the city plans or something."

Brennan shook her head as she crouched down in the dirt, snapping on a pair of latex gloves. Booth sighed heavily before hitching up his trouser legs slightly and following his partner down, carrying her bag.

"See, now this is just one of the many reasons I have for _not_ wearing a suit. Do you have any idea how much this cost?"

Brennan wasn't listening as she held out her hand.

"Pass me the medium sized brush in my kit please."

He did as she asked, leaning over her shoulder to get a better look.

"What are you doing?"

She didn't answer as she began to carefully remove the dirt to uncover the currently buried right hand of the remains. Booth glanced at his partner.

"Uh, hello Bones? I'm talking to you here."

Brennan was engrossed in her work, all tiredness and frustration forgotten as she delicately uncovered the victim. Something glinted in the dirt and she began to concentrate on the area. Beside her, Booth squinted to get a better look.

"Is that a wedding ring?"

"It looks like it, yes."

Booth just frowned at her.

"So what's it doing on this guy's right hand?"

Brennan moved back a little, giving him a better view. Seeing what she had uncovered, Booth felt his stomach drop as his partner voiced what he now already knew.

"That's not his hand. There's another body here."


	3. Complications

**A/N: First of all, please accept my sincere apologies for the enormous delay in getting this chapter to you. It seems like all the world's technical difficulites descended on me in one fell swoop (not to mention the idiotic workmen outside who knocked out the broadband connection for the whole area). Anyway, I have battled the devil on my shoulder to ensure that there'll be more BB / Hodgela fluff than I normally write in this story. That means I've had to alter the previous two chapters significantly so if you originally read them before November 28th, please give them a quick look again or what's coming up in chapter four won't make much sense to you... Anyway, that's all for now folks. Thanks for sticking with me and I should have an update online tomorrow evening/thursday morning. Let me know what you think!**

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Agent Seeley Booth stood above the trench, frowning down at his partner who was now carefully unearthing a second body. Zach, who had arrived about half an hour before, was assisting her while Hodgins collected a vast array of soil samples from the area.

The direction of the bitter breeze changed, bringing a familiar scent Booth's way. He felt a tight smile pulling at his lips as he turned.

"Cam…"

She grinned as she stopped in front of him, folding her arms across her chest.

"Good morning, Booth. Slept well I hope."

He glanced around them, always concerned who might be listening to their exchanges.

"You know I didn't."

She arched an eyebrow.

"Just one of life's little lessons"

She moved to walk past him but paused at his side, each of them staring straight ahead. Cam dared a quick glance at the man she now shared her life with, a broad smile across her lips.

"Somehow I can't see you ever being late for dinner again."

Booth couldn't help but grin as she marched past him and towards her work. He turned to watch her as she crouched by the large hole, consulting with Brennan whose head had popped up over the side of the trench.

Sauntering over to them, Booth flashed his partner his brightest charm smile. Brennan just rolled her eyes and turned back to Cam, finishing her explanation of their discoveries.

"Yes, we found a second body. The positioning of the remains is strange."

Cam frowned down in to the trench, her gaze flicking between her star anthropologist and the decomposed bodies behind her.

"How is it strange? They're just lying side by side."

Brennan moved slightly to her left, giving her boss a better view of their discovery.

"Yes, but they were holding hands."

Cam's eyebrows shot up as she turned to Booth.

"So these two were a couple then?"

He nodded slowly, crouching down beside her as he followed her train of thought.

"Of course... Whatever happened to them, they were in love and they went down together. Whoever buried them cared about them and knew that they loved each other."

Brennan sighed heavily.

"That is, as usual, pure conjecture on your part."

She glanced over her shoulder, watching Zach hunched over his work as he bickered with Hodgins about the scientific use of the word 'dirt'. She turned back to the pair in front of her and Booth felt his stomach drop.

"Oh great, Bones, you've got that look again."

"What look?"

"That look that says you've found something that's going to make this case way more complicated than it should be."

Brennan paused, staring her partner straight in the eye.

"There is a somewhat small complication, yes."

Cam rocked on her heels with an exasperated sigh.

"What kind of complication?"

"The second body's bone structure is… Well, I've never seen anything like it. There's a distinct mixture of characteristics and bone markers that don't seem to make any sense. They simply should not exist together. I'm going to need to conduct a thorough examination back at the lab but…"

She tailed off, leaving Cam staring at her for a few moments before she finally broke the silence hanging over them.

"But what?"

Brennan blinked, staring her boss straight in the eye with a severe look of distinct frustration.

"I'm not sure we're ever going to know who this victim was."

_oo00oo_

Angela strolled through the Jeffersonian, a large sketch pad tucked under her arm as her personally altered lab coat swished around her legs.

Entering her office, she sunk in to her sofa, curling her legs beneath her as she flipped open the pad. Grabbing her favourite set of pencils off the table to her side, she paused as she stared down at her drawing.

The gentle lines and shading of her work made the portrait almost come to life. Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered the real subject of the drawing. Putting pencil to paper, she let the smile brush her lips as she extended the stem of the beautiful white rose.

Nicknamed the Romeo and Juliet, it was the rose Hodgins had given her all those months ago, signalling the start of them admitting how they really felt about each other.

_And it could have been the start of something great. If only I wasn't so damn stubborn._

Sighing heavily, Angela ran a frustrated hand through her hair and leaned back against the cushions.

_But now I've screwed it up totally and I don't think I can ever go back, the one thing that I told him we should do._

Staring back down at her portrait of the rose he'd given her to show her how he felt, it suddenly looked like a pitifully poor imitation of what it should be. Infuriated, she ripped the page out of the sketch book, screwed it up in to a ball and threw it as hard as she could across the room with a frustrated grunt.

_Damn artistic temperament…_

The ball of paper landed at the feet of a lab worker she barely recognised. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she smiled broadly at the young man.

"Can I help you?"

The man smiled back at her as he strolled across the room.

"Delivery for you, Miss Montenegro."

He passed her a reasonably large package, turned on his heel and left. Attempting to keep the smile on her face, she opened the padded envelope. But her smile didn't last.

As the package slipped through her fingers to the floor, Angela couldn't help but cry.


	4. Liabilities

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this to you. To make up for it, this chapter's extra long. I should point out that this is set before last week's episode (The Witch In The Woods) so Brennan doesn't know about Booth and Cam yet. Anyway, please let me know what you think cos I'm feeling a little disconnected from the characters at the moment so I'm worried it's all gone a bit wrong. I'll get the next chapter to you as soon as I can.**

Oh, and in case some of you don't know, the first couple of chapters (one mostly) have been reworked for extra BB goodness. Thanks for reading. 

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Booth strolled through the automatic doors leading in to the Jeffersonian labs, his cell phone pressed against his ear as he gritted his teeth at the irritating hold music. Pausing as his eyes roamed for his partner, the line finally connected.

"Deputy Director Cullen."

Booth unconsciously straightened up even though he knew his boss couldn't see him.

"Good morning sir, it's Agent Booth. I received a message that you needed to speak to me."

There was a pause at the other end of the line as papers rustled before his boss responded.

"Yes, Agent Booth. It's about the cases you've been working on recently."

Booth frowned, concerned as to why the Deputy Director was suddenly interested in a progress report.

_He only does this when there's a problem. What the hell's going on?_

"Are you talking about the bodies in the park, sir?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"I don't follow, sir."

Cullen cleared his throat and Booth felt the nerves claw at his stomach.

_He sounds so uncomfortable. Am I in trouble here or something? I feel like I've just been called in to the Principal's office._

Cullen sighed heavily and Booth prepared himself for the worst.

"What's going on, sir?"

"I think I'm the one who should be asking _you_ that question, Booth. Look, what you do on your own time is your business and your business only. Just as long as it doesn't interfere with your work, of course."

He paused and Booth's mind began to race.

_I don't understand. What the hell is he talking about?_

"Look, Booth, I'll get straight to the point. We may need to reassign you."

Seeley felt like his heart had just stopped beating.

"I'm sorry, sir, reassignment? Why?"

"As you're aware, your last case - the one with the wife murdered in her kitchen by the jealous toy boy - is about to go to court. According to the prosecution, every single piece of evidence is now being picked apart by the defence attorneys. They're going to put you on the stand and analyse your personal life."

"My personal life? What's that got to do with any of it? It's not relevant."

"I'm afraid that in the light of certain revelations, it is. They're using your supposed relationship with Doctor Saroyan to attack the credibility of all the investigators. If they can sway the jury on the fact that the two of you may have had your own agenda, then reasonable doubt is pretty much guaranteed."

Booth leant against the wall as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair, his knees weak and almost unable to support him.

_This isn't happening. This just isn't happening. How the hell did Cullen and the defence attorneys find out about me and Cam? For God's sake, not even Bones knows! What the hell do I do?_

Cullen's voice pulled Booth back to the lab.

"Booth, I'm sorry to have to ask you this but are you currently in a relationship with Doctor Saroyan?"

Gritting his teeth, he was tempted not to answer. After all, it was his personal life and had nothing to do with his work. Of course, that wouldn't be the picture the defence attorneys would paint.

"Yes, I am."

"Then I hope you can see the problems that causes for us."

Booth felt his anger beginning to surge as he clenched his fist by his side.

"Sir, you don't honestly think that Cam and I would conspire to manipulate the evidence to put innocent guys behind bars, do you?"

"Of course I don't. But I'm not on the jury, am I? Look, you and Doctor Brennan are probably the best investigative team the FBI has ever seen and I certainly would never do anything to meddle with that, even if that woman does exasperate me beyond belief at times. However, even I have to answer to someone, Booth, and right now my boss is nervous. And when he's nervous…"

"Then heads will roll, I know."

Sighing in resignation, Booth closed his eyes as he waited for the bad news.

"So, what exactly is going to happen?"

"To be honest, Booth, I'm not sure. Your reputation as an investigator is outstanding and even though your partner does tend to rub a lot of people up the wrong way, no one can deny the fact that she is extraordinarily talented. I mean, everything she did with my little girl…"

Cullen tailed offand Booth couldn't help but remember that horrific case, watching the hell his boss was going through as his daughter fought the cancer that invaded her body, the cancer some money-hungry idiots had put there. She was close to losing her battle and right now, so was Booth.

"Sir, what do I do?"

He was surprised to hear the helplessness in his own voice and hoped his boss hadn't noticed it too.

"For now, just try not to worry about it. I just wanted to make you aware of the situation. The prosecution lawyers are talking to the judge as we speak. We're hoping that he'll rule your relationship to be inadmissible. After all, there's no evidence that either one of you has done anything wrong. You know what lawyers are like. They're trying to make you out to be some kind of liability to the FBI."

"So, what about the prospect of reassignment?"

"That answer lies with the guys upstairs, Booth. All I can tell you is that things aren't looking too good. I mean if they're doing this now, on what is essentially a low-profile case, what would the bastards be like on a big one? I think you're going to have to talk to both Doctor Saroyan and Doctor Brennan about this. Just in case, you know?"

Booth didn't know what to say.

_Everything was going so well. When I woke up this morning, I had a job that I loved, a partner who I trusted with my life and a great girlfriend. And now it looks like all of that's about to be taken away from me, I don't know what to do._

"I'll definitely talk to them as soon as I can, sir. And if you hear anything else about any of this, please let me know as soon as possible."

"Of course, Booth. Of course. For now though, I suggest you get back to working your current case and just carry on like normal. I'll see you in the office later."

The line went dead but Booth didn't move the phone from his ear. He just stood there, staring straight ahead but looking at nothing. Slowly, he lowered his arm and slid the cell phone in to the pocket of his suit trousers.

Leaning his head back against the wall, Seeley closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

_So where does this leave me? Break up with Cam and keep my job though it'll probably do nothing to stop what the lawyers are doing, or stay with her and lose Bones and maybe end up getting transferred to the middle of nowhere. I'd hardly call that a fair choice…_

The touch of a gentle hand on his arm nearly made Booth jump right out of his skin. His eyes flinging open, he spun on his heel to face the intruder on his thoughts.

Brennan's concerned eyes stared back at him as she tentatively removed her hand from his arm.

"Booth? What's wrong?"

He blinked rapidly as his mind raced.

_How do I tell her that I think I've ruined everything? How do I tell her that I'm probably going to be forced to leave because I'm dating her boss, that I've jeopardised our work, the one thing that would truly hurt her?_

He heard himself speak without realising he was actually doing it.

"Nothing, Bones. I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all."

_Liar…Tell her the damn truth. She's your partner, she'll understand. She's Bones, for God's sake._

She was giving him that look, her eyes questioning him.

"Really, Bones. Quit looking at me like that! I'm fine. What's going on with the bodies from the park?"

He flashed her his biggest charm smile, even though he was mentally berating himself.

_Idiot… You've got to tell her. You can't just not turn up one day, pretending like you forgot to tell her that you were being reassigned because you'd become a damned liability. And all because you started screwing her boss. Again…_

She was still staring at him, obviously weighing up whether it was better to probe his personal life or just focus on their work. After a few more seconds, she had obviously made up her mind.

Pulling a file from under her arm, Brennan marched off in the direction of the examination platform and Booth dutifully followed with a sigh of relief. He knew he would have to tell his partner eventually, but not yet. Just not yet.

Following the anthropologist towards the steps up to the stage where Hodgins and Zach were waiting, Booth realised his partner was talking to him. He shook his head slightly, trying to regain his focus.

"Sorry Bones, say that again?"

She sighed but immediately repeated the little information she had garnered.

"The bodies got here about half an hour ago. Zach's been conducting the preliminary examination and Hodgins has been looking at the clothing for insect activity and soil samples. Apparently he's found some kind of sludge, possibly decomposing organic material which he might be able to use to determine where the pair came from, maybe even where they were killed."

Booth nodded slowly.

"And he actually likes his job? Well, whatever strokes his Buddha…"

Brennan just sighed but didn't even break her stride, marching past the security guard at the bottom of the stairs. Booth paused, glancing at the guard with a slight shrug.

"Well, I thought that was funny…"

He jogged up the stairs after her and dropped himself down on one of the stools with a flourish, flicking his poker chip in the air as he grinned at the squint squad.

Watching his partner talking to the other members of the brain trust, Booth felt a strange pang in his chest. He was the first to admit that the entire team had been through a lot together, but all it had served to do was strengthen the bond between them all.

Closing his eyes briefly, he couldn't drive the image of Brennan bound and beaten out of his mind. It had happened too many times. When she was tied up by Agent Kenton, the way she looked when the group rescued her and Hodgins from the Grave Robber, not to mention the way she held him when he saved her from the hands of Katie Harwood in the supposed safe haven of Quantico.

He'd come so close to losing her so many times and now it was likely he was going to lose her in a different way, it was eating him alive. Not that he could show her that.

_I'm the cop in all of this, she's the squint. I've got to stay normal. I can't let her know what's going on. I can't let her know that I'm her biggest liability right now. I can't let her know that. She'd probably never forgive me._

Turning back to the group, he caught his partner's eye. She was staring at him, that look of concern still obvious on her face. He flashed her his biggest, brightest charm smile and prayed it was convincing.

"So, what've we got?"

Brennan was leaning over the examination table, her eyes narrowed as her gaze patrolled the bones of the first victim. Hodgins glanced up from a Petri dish, a look of strange contentment in his eyes.

"Actually, this is really very fascinating. The crossover of organic particles from different areas is incredibly revealing of where these people were before they were buried. Not to mention the density gradient of this decomposing material… I'm going to examine the fractural imagery and possibly run it through the GCMS to test the types of organic material contained in it. I mean dude, this is what I live for!"

Booth blinked slowly before clearing his throat.

"Ok, enough of the geek speak Hodgins. Bones, what's the deal with the bodies? Do you think that you'll actually be able to figure out who they are?"

Brennan straightened up, hands placed firmly on hips as she cocked an eyebrow.

"It's the second victim that we've got a problem with. The bone markers and use of extensive cosmetic surgery could make identification incredibly difficult, even if we do retrieve DNA."

She gave the body a quick glance full of exasperation. Booth understood her frustration all too well.

_The whole reason she does this job is to put a face to these poor people, to give them back their dignity and their lives. It kills her when she can't do that._

Brennan turned back to the remains in front of her.

"This first victim should be simple to identify. Angela can run a simple reconstruction on the skull once we've cleaned the bones and I've placed the tissue depth markers. There are also numerous childhood injuries we can run against medical records, not to mention that there's still enough skin and decomposing organs for Cam to run the DNA."

Booth couldn't help but wrinkle his nose in disgust as Brennan's gloved hands delved in to the large wound in the victim's abdomen, his lower ribs poking through the gaps.

"That's, uh, _nice_ Bones. Any idea of cause of death?"

She nodded, removing her hand and pointing down at the wound.

"The ragged edges imply that this is the exit wound of a shotgun blast, probably from behind. Zach, can you hand me those tweezers?"

"Certainly, Doctor Brennan."

He appeared at her side, handing over the implement and watching intently as she carefully removed the remnants of shotgun pellets. Dropping them into a Petri dish, she placed it on the tray next to her.

Her gaze trailing up the body, she slowly focused in on the neck. Nodding at Zach, he moved in closer.

"There appears to be a cervical fracture of the third vertebrae."

Booth narrowed his eyes at the young scientist.

"So, the guy had his neck broken?"

Zach sighed.

"I believe I just said that, Agent Booth. However, it was a post mortem injury."

Brennan nodded with an approving smile.

"And how did you reach that conclusion?"

He pointed at an area of the neck that Booth couldn't see so he instead focused on the look of pride in his partner's eyes as she listened to her grad student explain.

"The remaining surrounding tissue obviously suffered damage when the fracture occurred but there is no evidence of blood rushing to the area as it would if there was still circulation, ergo his heart was no longer beating."

Booth had to admit, the young guy was incredibly smart. Scarily so most of the time. He was glad to have the kid on his team. Not that he'd ever admit that to him though. After all, he still occasionally got the urge to shoot him.

"Ok great, so the guy's neck was broken after he was dead. Was the gunshot what killed him though?"

Brennan didn't even look up as she answered him.

"Booth, I'm trying not to jump to conclusions here."

She glanced up at Hodgins who was happily examining the soil samples he had collected from the victims.

"Hodgins, could you ask Angela to come out here and make a start on putting faces to our bodies?"

Booth couldn't help but notice that the smile on the scientist's face grew to epic proportions at the idea of going to see his favourite artist. His face literally lit up as he hopped off the stool and marched off.

"With pleasure."

He disappeared from the platform and Booth turned his attention back to his partner. Brennan straightened up and moved a camera over an area of the skull, sending an enlarged image of the injuries to the flatscreen in front of Booth. He leaned forward, not getting what he was supposed to be looking at. Brennan moved round, pointing at the image.

"This fracture here indicates that this man was hit over the head with some sort of heavy object, probably a wrench or a crowbar. We'll have to take an impression of the fracture after the remaining skin's been removed to get a better idea but this man's skull is covered in injuries. Some are years old, some have only just started to heal. All in all, I'd say this man suffered a lot of abuse over the years."

Booth leaned back, folding his arms across his chest as he thought the information through.

"But the injury from the crowbar or whatever, that happened around the time of death?"

"Yes, without doubt."

"But it didn't kill him?"

"No. It most likely knocked him unconscious and would certainly have caused his brain to bleed inside his skull. If it wasn't for the gunshot wound to the abdomen, the blow to his head would have got him within a few hours."

Booth nodded, images of potential scenarios running through his mind's eye.

"So maybe this guy got in to some kind of fight. The amount of abuse that he suffered would mean that he'd have at least learnt how to defend himself over the years. But someone clunks him round the head, he gets knocked out and falls to the ground. But maybe he's still struggling, maybe that's not enough for the attacker. As long as he's lying on his front, that could explain why he got the gunshot wound to the back, right?"

Brennan just stared at him for a moment before she sighed.

"It still amazes me how you manage to come up with a whole series of events before all the evidence has even been found."

Booth shrugged as he grinned at her.

"What can I say? I'm a gifted investigator."

She almost snorted with laughter as Hodgins reappeared on the platform, his face pale and his eyes wide. Booth sat up straight, concerned by the look in the scientist's eyes.

"Hodgins, what's wrong?"

He blinked rapidly, staring at the FBI agent.

"Angela, she… I went to her office but… I don't know who…"

Booth jumped to his feet, crossing the distance between them in a heartbeat as he clapped a hand on the man's shoulder, attempting to reassure him.

"It's ok, Jack, it's ok. Take it slow, alright? What's happened with Angela?"

Hodgins couldn't look him in the eye as he spoke, fear evident in his croaky voice.

"I went to find her for Doctor Brennan but as soon as I got in the office, I knew something was wrong. Her things were everywhere, just thrown about. And her art, her latest painting, it was sliced to shreds. I shouted her name, I looked for her but she wasn't there. But these were."

He raised his hands and Booth noticed the things he was carrying for the first time.

Giving his partner a worried glance as she reached his side, Booth took the piece of paper out of Hodgins's shaking hands. Realising he didn't recognise the writing, he knew Angela hadn't written it. He read it slowly, his heart in his mouth.

_"He that is without sin amongst you, let him cast the first stone." - John 8:7  
__  
You're hardly without sin, are you sweet Angela? You've entered the world where Angelas fear to tread. Time to run little painter, run away.  
__  
You know what's coming. Or did you already forget me? Don't worry, you'll be joining your little Kirk soon enough.  
__  
Big kisses baby girl._

_I'll see you soon._

He turned to Brennan, about to show her the note when he saw the look on her pale face. Frowning, he took a tentative step towards her. Looking up at him, he saw the fear in the tears that were threatening to spill over.

She looked away and he followed her gaze down to the white shirt hanging across her hands. Swallowing hard, Hodgins' voice beside him sounded like it was miles away.

"Angela was… She was wearing that this morning."

Booth barely heard him. All he could focus on was the pattern across the shirt, its colour far too vibrant against the stark white of the fabric.

It was the colour of death. It was blood.

* * *

**A/N: Dun dun derrrrrrr... Wow, I'm being so dramatic today! Blame it on tiredness. Oh, and for those that haven't read The Man In The Lecture Hall, that's where the reference to Katie Harwood comes from. Just so you know. Now review this punk and make my day. Seriously, it really would make my day!**


	5. A Tragic Mess

**A/N: Well, hello! Fancy seeing you here! I should point out that I had to rush this chapter a little to make sure I could get it to you all so please excuse any typos or weirdly structured sentences. I should hopefully get the next one up by the end of the week, possibly sooner. Please let me know what you think as I'm still stressing that I might be veering in to severely OOC territory... Thanks for reading and Ava, as ever, thank you for the support. You're a star and an inspiration.  
**

* * *

Brennan had a habit of getting engrossed in her work. She always did. Sometimes, it overwhelmed her to the point that she lost the world around her as she became fully absorbed by what she was doing. 

Staring down at the young victim in front of her, she examined the numerous fractures to his skull, the mounds and impressions creating a picture in her mind of who this individual once was.

_So many injuries in such a relatively short space of time, though the healed fractures to his hands, his fingers, means he started fighting back not too long ago._

She glanced behind her at the second victim and was immediately flooded with frustration.

_All that cosmetic surgery is just a vicious mutilation of the underlying architecture that makes us unique. It's barbaric and it's going to make identifying this person incredibly difficult. Why would they do this to themselves? Why would they throw away everything that makes them who they are?_

With a heavy sigh, Temperance turned back to the first victim. She focused in on the wounds, her eyes patrolling the marks on the bone that told her more than anyone else could see.

She was vaguely aware that the others were talking around her but she didn't hear what they were saying. Instead, she was pulled further and further in to her investigations, losing the lab around her.

But then something changed. Booth was talking but his voice, the way he sounded…

_I know there's something wrong with him today but he obviously doesn't want to talk about it. I can't force him to open up. I don't have the kind of people skills that he does. _

She looked up from her work, the tone of Booth's words catching her, and stared straight in to the wide, fearful eyes of Hodgins. Immediately, she stepped forward, her heart beginning to pound as she watched Booth lay a reassuring hand on the scientist's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

Hodgins couldn't look either of them in the eye as he attempted to explain what was going on.

"I went to find Angela for Doctor Brennan but as soon as I got in the office, I knew something was wrong. Her things were everywhere, just thrown about. And her art, her latest painting, it was sliced to shreds. I shouted her name, I looked for her but she wasn't there. But these were."

She noticed the objects he was carrying for the first time as he raised his hands in front of him. Booth took a piece of paper from him as Brennan stepped up beside her partner.

All thoughts of what might be contained in the unfamiliar writing flew from her mind as she saw the shirt draped across Hodgins' shaking fingers. She recognised the piece of clothing instantly, Angela having used her artistic eye to add piping and colour to the otherwise plain fabric.

Temperance slid the shirt from his fingers, staring down at the enormous blotch of colour that she knew Angela had never intended. For once, she couldn't stop her mind racing to conclusions she prayed were wrong, knowing full well without tests or specimens that the deep red covering the shirt was blood.

Angela's blood.

Lost for words, she turned to her partner.

_Booth will know what to do. He always knows what to do._

Staring him straight in the eye, all she found there was a fear and concern that matched her own. It felt as if her heart had stopped in her chest as he stared down at the large bloodstain, his face draining of all colour.

She took a small, tentative step towards him, unconsciously needing his support. He looked back up at her but there were no words of reassurance, no dazzling charm in his smile. Brennan just stared at him, suddenly lost.

_Angela is my best friend. If something's happened to her… No, Temperance, don't you dare think like that! _

Swallowing hard, she straightened up and carefully laid the shirt on an examination table to her right. Turning back to Booth, Hodgins and Zach, she forced her emotions deep down, struggling to pack her heart away in the box like she always had before.

_Before I met Booth, and definitely before I met Angela. She's changed me, she's made me open up. At times like this though, I'm not so sure that's such a good thing._

She locked eyes with her partner who gave a subtle nod, implying he knew what she was being forced to do and that he was with her all the way. Brennan knew all too well that he hated it when she shut down but right now, it was her only option.

Taking a deep breath, the anthropologist attempted to take control of the situation.

"If something really has happened to Angela then we need to figure out exactly what it is and stop it. That means that we're going to have to work together and approach this as if it was just any other case."

Ignoring the pain she felt saying those words, Brennan spun on her heel to face her assistant.

_Angela's not just another case. She could never be just another statistic, another faceless victim. I'll never let that happen._

Brennan straightened up and held her head high with what she hoped was an air of confidence and clinical detachment.

"Zach, I need you to keep working on the remains we found earlier. You can clean the bones of the first victim and take an impression of the skull fracture. We need a better idea of what that weapon was."

Zach scuttled off across the platform, grabbing a tray of instruments on the way. Brennan quickly turned her attention to her partner.

"Booth, go to Angela's office and see what you can find."

He frowned at her, obviously about to say something, but she didn't give him the chance. Instead, she turned to Hodgins.

"Go and find Cam, tell her to meet Booth in Angela's office and then -"

Booth practically jumped across the distance between them, cutting his partner off mid-sentence.

"Woah, Cam? Why are you putting me and Cam together? I mean, why do you think…"

Brennan didn't let him finish, her heart screaming at her that there wasn't time to deal with her partner's defensive attitude.

"Booth, you're the one who's always saying that you're the cop and we're the squints. Cam's the closest thing we've got to bridging that gap so use her. Go be a cop."

She saw the flicker of hurt in his eyes at her dismissal but said nothing to counter it.

_He's being hiding something from me all day. The way he's been acting… There's definitely something going on. But right now I can't think about any of that. I don't have the time to worry about anybody's personal feelings._

She turned back to Hodgins, aware that her gaze softened when she saw the look in his eyes.

_We've been through a lot together. Without Hodgins, I don't think I would ever have survived what the Grave Digger did to us. I know he loves Angela, all he wants to do is protect her._

Her voice softened slightly as she spoke to him, not enough for the casual observer to notice but it wasn't wasted on her favourite bug and slime guy. His shoulders seemed to stop shaking a little as he waited for her instructions, which she wasted no time in giving.

"Hodgins, go get Cam. Then come back here and wait for me. I'm going to get the CCTV footage of the labs for the last few hours. Together, we can get through it all much quicker and hopefully find where she went and who with."

Hodgins nodded and sped off, leaving Brennan to march over to the security desk, her heart pounding in her ears. With every step, the fear seemed to increase. With every breath, her mind's eyes saw the worst possible images of her best friend and what might have happened to her.

Pausing at the doors to the security area, Temperance closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself. Whatever was about to happen, whatever she might find on those tapes, Angela Montenegro was the best friend she had ever had. Right then and there, she swore to herself that whatever was coming, she was never going to stop looking and she would never give up.

Pushing open the doors, Brennan forced her heart even deeper in to the box, locking it tight within her chest to keep herself from feeling the pain that threatened to take control.

_oo00oo_

Booth stood in the centre of Angela's office without the slightest clue of what to do.

Paper and cushions were strewn all over the usually neat area, a giant canvas previously covered with brilliant green hues was now sliced to shreds. Walking towards the ruined painting, he felt the crunch of broken glass beneath his feet.

Looking down, he found what was left of an ornate vase littered across the carpet, the single white rose which was previously its contents now crushed and ground in to the floor.

Crouching down, he stared at the glass, his heart jumping in to his mouth as he caught sight of a trail of blood drops leading towards the couch, its cushions now cast aside.

Staring at the scene of chaos around him, Booth couldn't help but see the image of a struggle occurring in front of him, Angela struggling and fighting for her life against an intruder he couldn't yet identify.

"Seeley?"

The voice behind him tore the federal agent back to reality, though he couldn't lose the bitter taste of fear that had invaded his mouth. Still crouching, he looked up in to the concerned eyes of Cam.

"Did Hodgins tell you what's going on?"

She nodded slowly as she carefully picked a path across the room towards him. He stood to meet her, opening his mouth to speak but finding no words coming out. She said nothing either, simply pulling him in to an enormous embrace which he happily accepted.

Pulling away from him a little, she brushed a hand across his cheek with a gentle smile.

"First Brennan and Doctor Hodgins with the Grave Digger, and now Angela with all this…"

She waved an arm through the air to indicate the debris field that was previously a carefully organised office. She turned back to him with a wry smile.

"We should really get hazard pay for working in this lab."

Booth jerked away from her, tearing his arms from around her waist as he felt disgust taint his features.

"Angela's missing, we find blood, her office shows signs of an enormous struggle and all you can do is make jokes? You can't be serious!"

The shock in her eyes from his outburst stung him but he couldn't stop.

"Haven't you learnt anything from the things we've all been through together? Take one of us away and it hurts _all_ of us, the whole damn team, a team you're obviously not a part of seeing as none of this seems to be bothering you."

He knew he shouldn't have said it. He knew that she was just trying to lighten the mood a little and that she never intended to be flippant about Angela's disappearance. Anyone who knew the artist at all had to care about what happened to her. Angela had a way of making anyone care, it was just the kind of person she was.

Booth also knew that Cam was insecure about her place at the Jeffersonian, especially having been parachuted in above Brennan's head, and he could easily see that his dig at her not being a member of the team would hurt her. Not that she'd ever admit the way she was really feeling.

_In that way, we're very much alike. After all, I still haven't dared to tell anyone about my conversation with Cullen. Who knew a supposedly secret relationship could cause so many problems? And the only person I really want to talk to about all of this is the one person I've spent the past few hours shutting out. No wonder Bones basically snapped at me before._

Cam was stood in front of him, arms folded staunchly across her chest, obviously smarting from his last remark. She broke his gaze, staring around the room at the mess that was left behind. Booth resisted the urge to laugh.

_All this mess… If it wasn't all so tragic, this would be a perfect reflection of my life right now…_

He wanted to apologise, he wanted to take back what he had just said to her, but instead he just found himself crouching back down to examine the vase, the blood drops, anything that could stop him from looking at Cam.

Without looking, he knew she had moved across the room from him. With a heavy sigh, Cam had walked away and Booth just didn't have the strength to stop her. As she left the office, he suddenly realised that maybe it was because he just didn't care.

_oo00oo_

Brennan stared at the screen in front of her, watching the lab fly past as she sped through the security tapes. Although she was well aware that people often criticised her tendency to get too absorbed in her work, she knew that was not something she could be accused of right now.

Leaning back in the chair, she let out a long sigh and attempted to regain her focus. Instead, she found her gaze wandering over to Hodgins who was staring at the large flatscreen tv on the other side of her desk. Although he was staring at the tapes with what appeared to be fierce concentration, the vacant glaze over his eyes meant that she knew he wasn't actually seeing any of it.

_I just hope he's not seeing the same kind of images in his mind as I am. _

Leaning forward to put her elbows on the desk, Brennan dropped her chin in to her hands as she watched the workers fly by as they went about their routine business on the tapes.

It felt strange to her to be doing this sort of investigative work in her own room. On a normal case, Angela would run her mass recognition software in her office with Brennan and Booth discussing the facts behind her. That was how it always worked. But not today.

Her brows knitting together in concentration, Temperance forced herself to focus.

_I should probably say something to Hodgins. I could reassure him and tell him that Angela's fine, wherever she is._

She stole a glance at his hunched shoulders and bit her bottom lip.

_Who am I kidding? He's an empirical scientist all the way, just like me, so empty promises and kind words aren't going to help. Especially not coming from me. Especially when I'm not even sure if I believe them._

Turning back to the computer screen, she watched as her best friend entered her office. There was no CCTV coverage inside the room so Brennan quickly jotted down the time stamp on the pad in front of her to compare it with when she would find the artist leaving again.

Looking back up at the footage streaming past, a familiar face amongst the blue hue of the Jeffersonian lab coats caught her attention. With the images in fast forward, the figure was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Brennan just staring at the screen, certain that she must be wrong.

Regaining her senses, she hit rewind and attempted to ignore the deafening roar of her heart pounding in her chest. Practically punching the play button, Brennan leant further and further forward as she waited for the figure to reappear.

_It can't be, it just can't be. I was just seeing things. My stress levels must have triggered an emotional response that caused my mind to trick my eyes. It wasn't really…_

She hit pause at just the right moment and her heart came to a crashing halt. Her eyes the size of saucers, Brennan just stared at the screen.

"Hodgins, find Booth."

Her voice was taught and tinged with fear, causing her colleague to look at her with concern.

"Doctor Brennan, what is it?"

She couldn't tear her eyes away from the figure as she zoomed in, trying to be one hundred percent certain of their identity. As the pixels realigned and the screen was filled with the familiar face, Brennan realised that they were actually winking directly at the security camera.

_I think I'm going to be sick…_

"Doctor Brennan? What is it? What have you found?"

Hodgins' voice sounded incredibly far away in Brennan's ears, but then so did hers as she finally found the ability to speak.

"I think I just found a ghost."

* * *

**A/N: So, who's placing bets on who the mystery figure is? Anyone that knows me at all should have a pretty good idea who it is... Come on people, share your theories!**


	6. An Old Friend

**A/N: Yes, I'm back... My sincere apologies for the delay but it's with good reason. Not a reason I can divulge at this moment in time but hopefully I'll be able to share all the juicy gossip soon enough. Anyway, thank you for waiting oh so patiently for this update and I hope you'll continue to stick with me. For those that haven't read the story that this is a sequel to (namely 'The Man In The Lecture Hall'), you may want to give it a quick look as I've decided certain characters are probably going to be integral to this one. Hence it being a sequel... Anyway, please let me know what you think. Next chapter should be up tomorrow or wednesday, fingers crossed! Thanks for reading.**

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Booth stared at his partner, his eyes impossibly wide as he attempted to form a coherent thought. None came.

He swallowed hard and tried to regain his composure, Brennan's words echoing around his skull.

"I'm sorry, Bones, but you're gonna have to run that past me again."

She sighed heavily, obviously understanding his shock and confusion at what she had just told him.

"It's him, Booth. _He _was here, right before Angela disappeared. Watch the tape."

As she ran a frustrated hand through her hair, Booth began to notice just how tired she looked.

Her complexion was a lot paler than usual and her blue eyes had lost most of their sharpness. Even with everything else that was going on, he couldn't help but worry for her.

_After all, she is my partner. We're supposed to be there for one another, especially at times like this._

He took a step forward, about to reach out to her, but she turned away and returned to her desk, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the office.

And right then, that was exactly how he felt. Totally alone.

_Angela's disappeared, I've snapped at Cam, Hodgins is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, I'm hiding an enormous secret from my partner, not to mention the fact that I've been sleeping with her boss basically behind her back. What the hell have I been doing? Angela needs me, just like Bones does right now._

Brennan was hunched over her keyboard as she looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy.

_She tries to shut it all away, put her heart in a box, but it never stops her from feeling scared or upset. How did it take me so long to realise that? How could anyone ever think her cold?_

She sighed and waved him over to her.

"Booth, you'd better see this for yourself."

He grabbed the chair from the other side of the desk, dragging it across the carpet to seat himself beside her. As he settled down in front of her computer, he realised that his hands were shaking slightly which only served to unnerve him even more.

As Brennan leant forward over the desk to rewind the footage, her leg shifted and grazed against his thigh, sending a bolt of electricity through Booth's body. He tensed up immediately, staring straight ahead as he attempted to ignore the heat of her touch radiating through the fabric of his trousers.

The strange fluttering sensation in his chest reminded him of what the taxi driver had said to him the night before, the way that total stranger had hinted at there being more to Booth's relationship with Brennan than just friendship and work.

_He basically implied that she loves me and that I love her…_

His heart seemed to be beating faster and faster against his ribs, causing the image of an alien bursting through John Hurt's chest to flash through his mind.

_I gotta stop watching late night movies…_

He glanced to his left, focusing on his partner's look of intense concentration.

_She really is 'structured' very well…_

He caught himself in that thought, chastising himself for his distraction. Whatever it was he was feeling right then and there was quickly replaced with an overwhelming sense of guilt.

_Booth, pull yourself together! You've got a job to do. Not to mention a girlfriend… Bones is my partner and my friend. Hell, she's probably the only person in the world I trust totally, completely and without question. She's the one who makes it all make sense…_

He couldn't help but notice that Brennan's hair was illuminated by the soft flicker of the screen in front of her, creating an auburn halo around her head.

_So why can't I tell her about me and Cam? Why can't I admit what's being going on between me and her boss, how that's the reason the big boys upstairs are thinking about transferring me out of here and away from her? Why can't I explain that I shouldn't even be in this office right now, that I'm a liability to our cases?_

Brennan turned to look at him and he was caught in her gaze. Suddenly, in the midst of all the chaos in his heart and in his mind, he understood. Suddenly, it all made sense.

_I haven't told her because I can't stand the thought of her being disappointed in me. I don't think I can take Bones shutting me out, not after everything we've been through together, not now she's finally letting me in. I haven't told her because then it's all real and it's all happening. Because then I might lose her for good._

Booth realised that his partner was staring at him. Blinking rapidly, he cleared his throat and attempted a small smile.

"Sorry Bones, what did you say?"

She appeared to be resisting the urge to roll her eyes as she turned back to the screen in front of them.

"Just watch."

Booth pushed his fears to the back of his mind and focused at the job at hand.

_We've got to get Angela back. And I swear to God, if anyone's so much as laid a finger on her head, I'll tear out their -_

Booth felt his jaw drop as he registered the figure crossing the Jeffersonian decked out in the standard blue lab coat with an ID tag boldly fastened to the breast pocket.

Brennan hit the pause button, leaving the man frozen in the middle of the screen with one eye closed as he audaciously winked at the camera. Something tightened in the federal agent's gut.

"But it can't be…"

He felt his partner's eyes burning in to the side of his face but he couldn't look away, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"It is, Booth. He was here."

"Do you think he… Did he take Angela?"

There was a long pause before Brennan let out a heavy sigh. Booth turned to her, his brows knitted together in a deep frown. Eventually, she shrugged a little.

"Honestly, I don't know because I don't know what he's capable of. All I know is that right after he winks at the camera, five minutes has been wiped from the secure database. During that timeframe is when Angela disappeared. I'm not the one who jumps to conclusions, Booth, I just examine the evidence. But right now, he certainly seems to be a primary lead."

He nodded slowly, his palms clammy.

_This isn't happening. None of this is happening. I'm gonna wake up in a minute and find that this has all just been some kind of nightmare. This just isn't happening._

"I thought Nate had gone."

Brennan's eyes flashed with something close to rage.

"Well, he's back. Just like he promised. And I don't think he's done messing with us yet, Booth."

Staring at the image of his former mentor, the man that trained him, the agent he had respected and essentially revered for so many years, Booth felt sick to his stomach. Finally finding the ability to speak, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Something tells me he's barely even started."

_oo00oo_

Zach stared down at the bones laid out in front of him on the examination table, his mind calculating possibilities and probabilities at break neck speed. Not a single one was about the case.

He was thinking about Angela.

The grad assistant was well aware that he lacked social skills and that he could often make 'regular' people feel uncomfortable in his presence by simply being himself. But never Angela.

_She is an artist and I'm training to be a forensic anthropologist. They are two highly dissimilar fields yet they compliment each other well, which perfectly reflects the relationship which I share with Angela. I don't feel as awkward around her as I do around most people. I find her comforting._

Zach knew he had to work on the remains of the pair they had uncovered in the park but, for the first time in his long and detailed memory, he couldn't concentrate. He was sure that Doctor Brennan would probably cast down some sort of reprimand for his lack of progress and he decided it would be well deserved considering his inability to focus.

Not that his certainty of such an event occurring helped him work in any way. Instead, he found his gaze constantly wandering back in the direction of Angela's office. He could see Hodgins sat on her sofa, his hands wringing in his lap as he just stared off in to space. He looked scared.

_Why would anyone want to hurt Angela? She's a nice person, kind and considerate. _

Zach was beginning to find his lack of concentration highly disconcerting so he focused on the second skeleton with renewed vigour.

_Doctor Brennan was right, the results of this person's extensive cosmetic surgery have drastically altered the underlying architecture of the skull meaning identification is going to be problematic at best. I need to ask Angela to run a facial reconstruction programme based on the mathematical probabilities of various genetic features for - _

Zach's stomach lurched.

_I can't ask Angela. She's not here._

His latex-gloved hands hovering above the bones, Zach swallowed hard as he realised exactly the kind of impact the kooky artist had had on his life. Raising his eyes to see Hodgins's hunched and shaking shoulders, he knew he wasn't the only one.

_I have to do what Doctor Brennan does, I have to put my heart in a box. If Angela was here, she would say something artistic about making sure that these victims were identified and their stories were heard. So that's what I have to do._

He adjusted his position on his stool and turned back to the remains, focusing on the inconsistencies of the bone markers across the skeleton.

_I'm going to identify this body, I'm going to find the answers as to how they died and then ended up buried in the park. And when Angela gets back, she can listen to their stories and help figure out why it all happened, because that's what she does. She's Angela. _

_She'll be back._


	7. Realisations

**A/N: Hello again my fellow Bones fans. As you're all aware, it's coming up to Christmas so my spare time seems to be spent on anything but writing at the moment. BUT I've got this weekend off so hopefully I'll be able to get some more to you soon. Anyways, I hope this works for you all. Please let me know what you think. Reviews are my oxygen so do you really want to deprive me of something so vital? Well, do ya??!**

* * *

Booth was pacing up and down, marching up to one wall of Brennan's impressively sized office, turning on his heel, and then marching straight back again. After a few minutes, Temperance began to get impatient.

"Booth?"

He just kept pacing.

"Booth, are you alright?"

Still, he just kept marching up and down the room.

"Booth!"

He stopped dead in front of her, obviously surprised that she was yelling at him as confusion clouded his features.

"What?"

Brennan stared at him, hands on her hips, and rolled her eyes.

"You're going to wear out my carpet if you keep going much longer."

Booth glanced down at his feet and then offered a quick sheepish grin as he stepped toward her. Arms folded across his broad chest, he narrowed his eyes at her in concentration.

"I guess I just can't quite believe that Nate's back. I mean, I thought he was in New Zealand."

Brennan shrugged.

"Not anymore obviously."

She had suspected for some time that her partner's former mentor wouldn't stay there for long, especially not after sending her a taunting postcard from the capital city.

_One of the few benefits of having a fugitive for a father is that I can gain a better insight in to the tactics and logic of those avoiding detection by law enforcement._

Letting out a long sigh, she settled in to the large leather chair behind her desk.

"Do you think he took Angela?"

Booth pursed his lips as he openly considered what Brennan knew they had both been worried about.

"I don't know, Bones. The gap in the video footage doesn't look good, I'll admit that."

Brennan paused, raising an eyebrow at her partner.

"You don't want to consider the fact that your former mentor, a man you've previously respected and trusted, could be capable of something like that."

Booth shrugged, looking a little defensive.

"To be honest, after everything that happened at Quantico, I'm not sure what that man's capable of."

"Personally, I think that he is definitely likely to do something like _this_."

Booth moved towards her, perching on the edge of the desk to tower over her.

"And what makes you say that?"

Brennan paused to consider the question, weighing everything up as she always did.

_His posture is so stereotypically alpha male, pushing in to my personal space in an effort to intimidate and control. It's most likely an unconscious instinct though. It's just the cop in him._

"His behaviour at Quantico was not exactly rational, nor did he behave as a Federal Agent of his stature should. He certainly seemed to display traits more consistent with a sociopath, including what could be a tendency towards pathological lying."

Booth's brows knitted together in a deep frown as he stared down at her, his eyes hard. Brennan couldn't help but feel a little disconcerted at the coolness in his voice.

"You think that Nathaniel Rouse is a sociopath and a pathological liar?"

It was Brennan's turn to take the defensive.

"Booth, you were the one who recommended that he should be kicked out of the FBI, and with good reason! I mean, that postcard he sent us was full of biblical quotations that were consistent with the notes left with Katie's victims. As far as we know, they could have been working together at Quantico. It certainly would have been easy for them to plan, what with the two of them working together. Plus, Katie's experience as a Profiler helped them to plant evidence that they knew would affect me and what with your previous relationships with both of them, you would never suspect them."

He just glared at her as she finished her point while getting to her feet.

"They used your unfaltering loyalty against you to maintain a cover for who they really were and what they were doing."

Brennan felt her partner push in to her personal space again as he stepped towards her.

"That's all true for Katie, I admit that Bones. Hell, she was convicted in a court of law. Nate, on the other hand, wasn't even _charged_ with anything."

Temperance didn't know if it was her fears for Angela, her anxiety over Nate's reappearance or her confusion over Booth's recent odd behaviour, but she could feel her frustration turning towards anger.

"He wasn't charged because he left the country before any real investigation could be carried out, Booth! That's the only reason why and you know it. Not to mention the fact that he suddenly turns up at the Jeffersonian right before my best friend vanishes, her office is trashed and covered in blood, and the security tapes are tampered with."

Booth was even closer to her now, his normally reassuring presence suddenly aggravating her, though she couldn't explain why.

"Hah! And you're the one who's always telling _me_ not to jump to conclusions!"

"I was _not_ jumping to conclusions. I was simply putting forward a perfectly reasonable hypothesis! You're the one that's defending Nate purely on the basis of your history with him!"

Brennan hadn't realised that they were basically shouting at each other until Cam slammed the door to the office in order to get their attention. Trying to calm herself down with slow breaths, Temperance turned to face her boss who was staring at the two of them with an incredulous expression.

"What the hell is going on here? I could hear you two yelling from the other side of DC for God's sake!"

Brennan glanced in her partner's direction but avoided catching his eye.

"Nothing's going on. It was just a professional disagreement."

Cam's eyebrows practically shot through the roof.

"A _professional_ disagreement?! I'm sorry Doctor Brennan, but that little show the two of you just put on was anything but professional. So, tell me what's wrong here."

Brennan paused, trying to figure out where to start, when Booth's gruff voice did the job for her.

"Our, uh, argument was about the fact that we're not sure if it was Nate that took Angela. The security footage is, well, inconclusive to say the least."

Brennan felt her partner move away from her as he spoke but she didn't look at him.

_I don't understand what's going on here. Normally, I would ask him. I'm well aware of my lack of social skills and Booth's the one who always conducts a psychological analysis of people. So how can I ask his opinion when the tension is between us?_

Trying to keep her thoughts on track, Brennan locked her eyes on to Cam's blank expression, watching as her boss shook her head and blinked slowly.

"Ok, you're gonna have to catch me up here. Who's Nate?"

Brennan didn't give Booth the chance to answer.

"Special Agent Nathaniel Rouse was one of Booth's instructors during his FBI training. He was also at Quantico a couple of months ago when we had to investigate the killings there."

Cam nodded slowly, her eyes flicking between the anthropologist and the agent.

"And you suspect that he has something to do with Angela going missing?"

Booth snorted with derision but Brennan forced herself not to look at him when she answered.

"Neither of us know anything for sure. As Booth said, the video evidence is inconclusive. Personally though, I think Nate's visit to the Jeffersonian does appear to be more than a little suspicious, yes."

Cam took a step forward, tentatively approaching Booth.

"And what do you think, Seeley?"

There was a long pause. Eventually, Brennan's stubbornness gave way and she turned to look at her partner. All vestiges of her anger and frustration seemed to fade at what she saw.

Booth looked utterly defeated. If anything, he seemed to have shrunk into a lesser man. His arms folded across his chest, it looked like he was trying to give himself a reassuring hug. Although he was staring at the floor and she couldn't see his face, Brennan knew he was trying to force back his emotions.

_Of course he is. Booth is a good man and the fact that someone he trusted turned out to be manipulative and potentially murderous is something that will always haunt him. Even though it's not his fault, he'll think it is. He always does._

Brennan watched as Cam took another step toward him, her hands almost twitching at her sides as she appeared to resist the urge to reach out to him. Instead, she just stood there in front of him, seemingly unsure of what to do.

Brennan didn't know why but she suddenly felt uncomfortable in her own office, almost like she was intruding on a private moment.

_Angela told me that Booth and Cam previously had a relationship so of course there's going to be a sexual rapport there. But then, I never felt like this around Booth and Rebecca._

She watched as Cam took another tentative step forward as Booth finally raised his head a little, his face appearing stricken as his eyes immediately locked on to Cam's.

"I let Nate go, Cam. It's my fault that he's still free and walking around the Jeffersonian like he owns the place. Winking at the camera like that, he's just taunting me. He knows it's all down to me too. But if he took Angela, if he hurt her in any way, then that's all my fault too. I might as well have just taken her myself."

Cam crossed the short distance left between them in a heartbeat, grabbing his hand in her own and letting their fingers interlace in what was obviously a familiar grasp. Giving his arm a reassuring rub, she tucked her forefinger under his chin to raise his eyes to hers again, her voice soft and full of emotion.

"Shhh, baby, it's ok. It's not your fault, none of this is, ok? We'll find Angela and this Nate guy. It's alright, baby, it's going to be alright."

Brennan stared at them, her eyes widening as all the pieces of the previously unnoticed puzzle finally slotted in to place.

_The way she's touching him, the way that he's responding… She called him 'Baby'… They've been spending a lot of time together… The way I keep catching him in her office and her in his… How weird Booth's been acting lately… My boss is dating my partner._

Booth caught Brennan's eye and seemed to realise exactly what she was thinking. He immediately jerked away from Cam. She looked confused for a second before following his awkward gaze to the anthropologist. Seeing the look on Brennan's face, Cam practically jumped back a few feet.

Brennan couldn't help but feel surprised and even a little shocked.

_I thought that's the type of thing that partners are supposed to discuss with one another. Why didn't Booth trust me with something like this?_

The unexplainable frustration and aggravation Brennan had felt a few minutes earlier began to return. Attempting to regain her focus, she cleared her throat and spoke slowly.

"So… You two are… You two are together?"

Cam turned to Booth but quickly looked away again while his gaze seemed to wander anywhere but at his partner.

"Uh, Bones, you know, Cam and I… It's, well, we…"

He tailed off as he finally forced his eyes to meet hers. Brennan just stared at him calmly, using practically all her energy to keep the shock off her face.

_And the hurt. It's shock and hurt combined, I think. To be honest, I'm not sure. I just don't understand why he didn't tell me. Does he not trust me?_

"Bones, I know I should have told you about this but…"

Brennan shook her head, cutting him off.

"No, it's your private life, Booth. As long it doesn't interfere with our work then it's really none of my business, is it?"

She was surprised to hear how cold and unfeeling her voice sounded considering the bizarre churning in her stomach. He blinked slowly, a strange look in his eyes as he stared at her. Cam just looked incredibly uncomfortable.

After a couple of seconds of awkward silence, Booth took a small step towards his partner. Brennan didn't move away but she didn't give him any indication that he was welcome to come any closer either.

"Bones… Listen, Cam and I…"

The shrill ring of the telephone made all three of them jump.

Glad for an excuse to move away a short distance and possibly have the chance to gather her thoughts, Brennan walked to her desk and snatched up the receiver.

"Doctor Brennan."

Listening to the hurried voice on the other end of the line, the anthropologist felt her eyes widen. Slowly, she replaced the handset in its cradle as she looked up at her partner.

"That was Hodgins. He's found Angela."

* * *

**A/N: Don't worry, she's not dead or anything! I know the show's already dealt with Brennan finding out about Booth & Cam but I started writing all this before that happened so I hope you don't mind me doing it for myself. I just hope it works for you all. And for anyone who saw Bones on Wednesday, am I the only person who wants Zach to go back to floppy hair?! He looks like an adult with a baby head at the moment... Oh, and the way Booth looked like he might kiss Bones at the end, so cute! Don't worry, I'm done now...**


	8. Homecoming

**A/N: Well hello there stranger. Bit of a long one for you here. Afraid I can't guarantee when the next chapter's going to be up seeing as things are stupidly busy at the mo. The joy of christmas for you. Anyway, am having a slight crisis of confidence (and when I say slight, I mean I'm now bald from tearing my hair out and the xmas decorations have been trashed by me climbing the walls in frustration... It's not a good look) so please let me know if I've gone horribly OOC or if it's all wrong. I can promise that Booth gets a kick up the arse from a certain someone all too soon... So anyway, people who review get a beautifully iced gingerbread house and the keys to my boyfriend's convertible. I should probably tell him about that...**

* * *

Angela sat on the couch in her office, cradling her wounded arm to her chest as she stared at the mess around her through a haze of tears. Tightening the now blood-stained scarf twisted round her hand, she didn't dare look up at the sound of the door opening. She didn't need to look anyway. She knew exactly who it was.

Out of the corner of her eye, Angela watched Hodgins gingerly pick his way through the debris covering the office before stopping right in front of her.

"Hey."

Angela just kept staring down at the scarf wrapped around her hand.

_If I look at him, I'll lose it completely. If I look at him and I start crying, I don't think I'll ever be able to stop._

He crouched down in front of her, taking her good hand in his own.

"Angela, are you alright?"

She turned away but didn't withdraw her hand. Hodgins tucked his forefinger under her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes with hers.

"Please Angela, just look at me."

She sighed heavily as she blinked back the tears. Hodgins let his hand trail up, using the back of his fingers to delicately stroke her cheek, tears brimming against his lashes.

"Just tell me you're ok, Ange. Are you?"

She nodded slowly, loving the warmth of his touch against her skin.

"Jack…"

He laid a finger against her lips, a broad smile erupting through his beard.

"Shh, it's alright. You're back now, that's all that matters. You're home."

Angela felt a smile part her own lips as she stared in to his eyes.

_He looks so relieved. Was he really that worried about me?_

She suddenly realised just how close they were to one another, his breath hot against her cheek and ruffling her hair. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as she was pulled in to the deep blue of his eyes, the pain in her hand now long forgotten.

There was just something about the scientist in front of her, something she couldn't explain, something that pulled at her no matter how much she tried to resist.

She felt herself leaning forward, her eyes drifting closed as she waited for him to cross the distance too.

As soon as his lips brushed against hers, his beard tickling her chin, Angela felt safe again. Lights seemed to dance across the back of her eyelids as the kiss deepened, all the things they hadn't dared to say to one another being spoken clearly without a single word.

Eventually, they pulled apart and Angela didn't even bother to hide the way her fingers trembled in his grasp. Instead she grinned, her cheeks dimpling as she stared into his eyes.

_He's right. I'm home…_

Suddenly, the door burst open and Angela jumped to her feet, leaving Hodgins to scurry to the couch.

Brennan stood there, her eyes wide as she stared at her best friend like she was trying to convince herself it was all real. Angela just smiled and nodded, crossing the office to pull the anthropologist in to a long embrace.

Finally, Brennan pulled away and Angela was surprised to find that there was no look of awkwardness on her face at their physical contact and emotional moment. Instead, she just looked happy to see her. After a long moment of the two women just staring at each other, Brennan let out a long sigh.

"Oh Ange, I thought something had happened to you."

The artist swallowed hard before she responded, her voice filled with emotion.

"It did."

She turned, pulling her bag off the couch and retrieving the padded envelope that had started all of this. Crossing the room, Angela emptied the contents of the jiffy bag on to her desk, laying out the contents to show to her best friend.

Brennan marched to her side, staring down at the photos in front of her. In every single one, Angela was smiling as she posed along side her former boyfriend.

Angela had to blink back the tears that threatened to assault her cheeks.

_Kirk… I loved him. I actually loved him. But I could only be with him for a few weeks a year. He tried to make it longer, he tried to make it permanent. He tried to be with me. All he got for his troubles was a gruesome death in the desert…_

Angela glanced at Jack. He was watching the pair from the sofa, seeming to examine the photographs from a discreet distance. But the fact that the images had disturbed the artist so much obviously upset him.

_I might have loved Kirk but he's gone now. He died and… Hodgins was there for me. He was always there for me. I guess I never realised that before. But I have now. I know who I want, I know who I need… I just don't how to tell him that._

Brennan caught Angela's eye, a frown of confusion clouding her features.

"I don't understand. These photographs date back for years. What does this have to do with you disappearing?"

Angela cleared her throat, doing her best to avoid Temperance's gaze.

"I know. That's the problem. These aren't my photos, Tempe. Someone sent them to me. It caught me off guard, I guess. It was a shock, especially when I saw the letter which I guess you've already read. Not to mention this…"

She pulled something from her pocket with a look that Brennan had never seen before. Angela passed the bundle to her, letting the anthropologist to unwrap the blood-soaked fabric.

Knowing what was coming and not really wanting to see it again, Angela felt her nerves tighten as Temperance carefully laid out the contents on the desk beside the other images. Biting her lip, the artist just watched as her best friend reassembled the photograph.

_It's me. At Quantico. Stood amongst all those trees in what should be a beautiful scene. Instead, it's just me from a distance trying not to throw up as I look at a burnt body. Lovely…_

Angela met Brennan's eyes with a slight shrug.

"Yeah, I was the one who tore it up."

"Why?"

Leaning across the desk, she reassembled the last few pieces. Before them lay the photograph, Angela's face almost all but scratched out, what was left of her eyes seeming to weep blood. Across the bottom was scrawled a message in the same unfamiliar handwriting as the note that came with the images. Brennan read it out loud.

"Traitors pay in blood…"

Angela raised her hand, still wrapped in the stained scarf.

"I guess I already have."

Temperance took a brisk step forward, grabbing her friend's hand.

"Let me look at it."

Angela obeyed, knowing all too well that there was no point in arguing. Sighing heavily, she tried to explain as the anthropologist unwrapped the deep wound.

"I ripped up the photo, Bren. I know I shouldn't have, I know it's evidence and all of that, but I just couldn't look at it. Then I guess my artistic temperament kicked in and I threw my favourite vase against the wall. When I tried to pick up the pieces that were left, well, I just cut my hand wide open as you can see… And then… Well, I just had to get out of here. Seeing those photos, reading that message, I just couldn't hack it. So I turned off my phone and I just ran. I know it was stupid and I know I should have just talked to someone but… I guess I was just scared."

She looked around her at the ruins of her office before turning back to her friend and colleague.

"But I didn't do this, Bren. I swear to you, all I did was break the vase. You know me, I would never mess my own place up like this. At least, not intentionally anyway…"

A strange look filled Temperance's eyes, her mouth forming a tight line.

"So, you're saying that someone else did this?"

Angela just nodded as Hodgins shared a look with his boss. The artist immediately felt her stomach sink.

"What? What is it? What's going on?"

Brennan appeared to choose her words carefully as she answered.

"After you went missing, we examined footage from the security cameras. On it… Well, we saw Nathaniel Rouse wandering around the labs."

Angela felt her eyes widen to the size of saucers.

"Nate?! Nate was here? You mean, you think he might have done this to my office?"

Hodgins spoke for the first time since Brennan's arrival.

"Well, to be honest, we thought he'd taken you till you turned up again so anything's possible."

"But Nate? I mean, I know that man is seriously twisted and probably totally insane, but why would he think I'm a traitor?"

Angela looked at the two people in front of her, the pair she trusted more than anyone else in the world, but she just found blank expressions greeting her. Eventually, Brennan stepped forward.

"Ange, if someone else did this to your office, do you know why? Has anything been taken?"

She looked around as she shook her head slowly.

"I don't know. God, I just don't know! I mean, it's all such a mess so I just can't tell. But never mind all of this. What could I have ever done to make me a traitor?"

She felt her eyes begin to swim with tears again, causing her vision to blur as Hodgins grasped her hand. Neither of them answered her though and she knew neither of them could.

But instead she had the support of a great friend and a man who obviously cared about her. Right then - even with the chaos that surrounded her and the pain in her injured hand - that was all she needed to know.

_oo00oo_

Cam ignored the echoes of her heels clicking against the polished floors of the Jeffersonian as she marched through the lab. After Temperance's announcement about Angela's reappearance, she had wanted to check that her artist was alright.

Approaching the office, she could see Angela talking to both Brennan and Hodgins inside. But it was the man stood watching from the outside that caused her heart to skip a beat.

Not bothering to hide the smile of relief on her face, Cam stopped beside Booth and resisted the urge to reach for his hand.

_Even though Doctor Brennan knows about us dating now, we're still at work. We have to be discreet._

She glanced in the direction of the man she had fallen head over heels for yet again.

"Thank God she's safe."

Booth just nodded slowly, his eyes locked on the scene unfolding on the other side of the glass. At his lack of response, Cam moved a little closer to him, concern obvious in her features.

"And what about you? Are you alright?"

Still, he didn't look at her.

"Me? I'm fine. Why?"

Cam tried to make sure that the exasperation she felt did not spill over in to her voice.

"Because you've been acting weird with me all day, not to mention how you bit my head off earlier. And now that Doctor Brennan knows about us…"

She tailed off as he visibly tensed up beside her. On the brink of getting seriously angry with him, Cam forced herself into Booth's eyeline.

"Now that people know - or more precisely, now that _she_ knows - you actually want to end this, don't you?"

Booth barely glanced at her, his brow furrowed to match the gruff tone to his voice.

"Don't be stupid, Camille."

Cam had to use every ounce of her strength to stop herself from screaming at him, her nerves clawing up her throat as she spoke in a hushed voice.

"And what else am I supposed to think? I'm not blind, Seeley. I see the connection you have with her. And don't think I haven't noticed that amount of times you've blown me off to be with her because _she_ needs you. You know what? Sometimes I need you too."

For the first time since she had appeared beside him, Booth turned the full weight of his gaze on to his girlfriend.

"She's my partner, Cam. That's what partners do. I never took you for a green eyed monster."

She held his gaze, though inside her brain was screaming at her to just run away and buy an enormous tub of the fattiest ice cream she could find to numb the pain.

"Booth, if you want to end it just say so. I'm a big girl, I can take it."

He blinked rapidly as his features seemed to soften in front of Cam's very eyes.

_Something's really bothering him, it's so obvious. But why won't he tell me? We've been dating for months now. If he's happy to share his bed with me, why won't he share his thoughts too?_

Eventually, he spoke, his voice full of an emotion Cam could not quite figure out.

"Look, I don't want to end it and especially not like this, but there's just so much going on right now and… Look, I'm just having a bad day. What with Nate and Angela, my head's a little messed up, that's all."

Cam was unconvinced.

_He's still hiding something from me, I know it. Why won't he be honest with me? Has something happened between him and his precious partner?_

Her stomach a turbulent tangle of nerves, Cam jutted out her chin in a posture of defiance.

"Well, why don't you actually try talking to me about it when you've got things straight? She might be your partner at work, Booth, but we're supposed to be partners all the time."

She stormed off through the labs, all too aware that the man she loved hadn't even bothered to watch her go.

_oo00oo_

Brennan perched on the edge of Angela's desk with a broad smile, watching Hodgins wrap his arm around the artist's waist. As he guided her over to the sofa, sitting her down to carefully examine the wound to her hand, Brennan turned her attention back to the reassembled photograph beside her.

_Someone thinks that Angela's a traitor. What could she have ever done to deserve this? Angela's the most loyal person I know. Well, with the possible exception of Booth anyway..._

Temperance began to assess the evidence she had been presented with.

_Could Nate have sent the pictures? How would he have got hold of the old photos of Angela and Kirk together? Not to mention the fact that his handwriting doesn't match the scrawl about traitors. So if Nate has nothing to do with Angela, what was he doing at the Jeffersonian?_

Her stomach began to tighten as she realised that she had no idea what Nate was up to. The flood of possibilities and scenarios that swarmed her mind sent a shiver down her spine.

Looking up at the pair in front of her, Brennan watched the gentle touches and soothing words exchanged between Angela and Hodgins with a wistful smile. Right in front of her was the evidence of a blossoming romance, a relationship that had been brewing under her nose for months.

She moved to the door, intending to give the pair some privacy. Grasping the handle, she stared through the glass at her partner and her boss. They were standing barely inches apart, their relationship now all too obvious to her.

Suddenly, Brennan realised just how alone she really was.

_Angela's my best friend but she has Hodgins to help her through this. Booth's my partner but he didn't even trust me enough to tell me he was with Cam. I guess I'm just not meant to have a family and people around me. I'm just one of those people who has to do it on my own._

Slipping quietly through the door, she managed to pass Booth and Cam without either of them noticing. Climbing the stairs to the forensic platform, she snapped on some latex gloves and prepared the examination table to get back to work.

Staring down at the bodies from the park, she ran a gloved finger across the wedding ring on the first victim. Biting back a loneliness she could never truly admit to herself or anyone, Brennan got to work.

* * *

**A/N: Little note for all the Cam haters out there. No, I'm certainly not her biggest fan and I can't say that I'm particularly keen that she's getting it on with everyone's favourite federal agent. However, they are in a relationship in the show and so it's something I'm going to deal with. Like it or not, Booth & Brenn aren't gonna get it on while he's with Cam (cos he's a good little Catholic boy, bless his heart) and he's not gonna dump his lady to run off with someone else just like that. The boy's got class, so please bear with me on this one. Cam's just an obstacle that'll make the eventual relationship with Bones all the sweeter. She's not bloody Hitler for God's sake! Sorry, rant done with...**


	9. Repercussions

**A/N: Ok, first of all please let me apologise for the long delay in continuing this story. A lot of things have happened in the past month and quite frankly, I'm not going to talk about here, even in such a wonderful community as this one. Suffice to say that I am back and that I should be back to my normal speedy upload self in due course. Secondly, this chapter may seem to be pretty OOC and distinctly over the top. There is a reason for it and it'll all become clear in the next few chapters. Well, that and I'm just in a foul mood combined with chronic insomnia and that seems to mean the characters I love always suffer... Anyway, I hope you all don't hate me too much when you get to the end of the chapter.**

* * *

Temperance Brennan sat totally alone on the forensic platform. Usually, she liked it that way while she worked as it allowed her to concentrate on the case at hand instead of being forced to deal with interruptions and unnecessary conversations. 

Glancing up from the remains she was examining and looking around her, Brennan began to realise that being alone wasn't always what it was cracked up to be.

_I need someone to talk to. There's so much going on right now and I need to share it with someone else, to get another perspective on the situation._

Her gaze trailed across the lab to Cam nodding at something Zach was enthusiastically telling her.

_When it comes to work, I can easily talk to Zach. He might be even more socially inept than myself but at least he understands the process of an investigation. However, when it comes to my personal life, to my thoughts and feelings, Zach would certainly not be my first choice. But then nor would Cam._

_Especially seeing as she's my boss and my partner's new girlfriend…_

Her chest seemed to ache at that thought as her eyes were pulled towards Angela's office.

_She's my best friend. She's the person I turn to in a crisis. But right now, she's coping with everything that's happened today. Nate's reappearance, the threatening letter, the photographs… The last thing she needs is me whinging about my own life._

Her attention turning to the man Angela was talking to, Brennan's heart seemed to speed up a little.

_And then there's Booth. Normally, I wouldn't have the slightest problem in talking to him about what's going on. But right now, he's part of the problem. He obviously doesn't trust me or hold me in the same high regard as I see him, otherwise he would have told me about his relationship with Cam. Not to mention the fact that he's been weird with me all day. He's still hiding something from me._

Swallowing hard, Brennan forced herself to return to her work with a heavy sigh.

_Maybe it really is for the best that I don't have a man in my life right now. Boyfriends would just be yet another way to complicate things._

She pulled the camera closer, adjusting its position over the body in front of her as she upped the magnification. Not that she was thinking about her work as she stared at the results on the screen on the other side of the examination table.

_There have been so many times that I thought that maybe Booth and I were… That we were heading to be… It's a totally ridiculous concept, Temperance. Booth obviously doesn't feel that way about you and you certainly shouldn't be thinking that way about him._

She moved the camera across the torso slowly, barely registering the change of images on the screen.

_But that doesn't stop me thinking about it all. It doesn't stop me feeling angry even though I can't really explain why. There is no rational reason for me to feel betrayed by Booth's actions. He is perfectly within his rights to have a relationship, just as I'm entitled to the same thing._

_But why did it have to be Cam?_

The echo of footsteps across the platform forced Brennan's attention back to the lab as Zach approached the table.

"I'm afraid I haven't made much progress in identifying either victim, Doctor Brennan. The DNA results will take ten days but unless they're already in the system, we'll need another sample to compare it to."

Temperance sighed heavily as she met his gaze.

"Yes Zach, I know. It's just so frustrating. These two people have been buried for so long. They need their stories told, their families need to know what happened. We have to find answers and all I have right now are questions."

"But at least someone's asking those questions now. Somebody cares about what happened to them and who they were. That's a start, right?"

Brennan jumped at the sound of Booth's voice, his reassuring words doing much to sooth her jagged emotions. Looking up in to the warmth of his smiling eyes, she felt herself drifting back to her normal self. All the fears of loneliness and alienation, the fact that she had no one to talk to, everything just faded away.

But all too soon the bitter taste in her mouth returned, the sting of betrayal surging through her veins.

Tearing her eyes away from his, Brennan practically sprinted away from him as she marched around the table to face her assistant.

"Keep working on this, Zach. I want these people identified. I want to know who they were and what killed them. I want answers."

Before he could respond, she spun on her heel and headed for the steps, acutely aware that her partner was close behind her and calling her name.

"Bones, what's the matter? Bones? Bones, would you just stop for a damn minute?"

Reaching her office, she slammed the file she was carrying down on her desk and spun around to face him, hands planted staunchly on hips.

"What?"

He stopped in front of her, a look of confusion and concern clouding his handsome features. Pushing the door to, he slowly crossed the room towards his partner though he had the sense to stop a good distance away.

"I want you to tell me what's going on. Why are you snapping at me? Is this about me and Cam?"

Brennan rolled her eyes as she inadvertently let out a snort of derisive laughter.

"Not every woman in this world cares about your sex life, Booth."

He blinked slowly and Temperance was all too aware that he was hiding his hurt.

_He knows I'm pulling away from him, that I'm angry. Well, good. I want him to be hurt. Just like he hurt me._

Catching herself in that thought, she turned away from him if only to hide the blush that was creeping up her neck.

_He hurt me? So what if he chose to have a relationship with my boss? That doesn't stop us from being friends and partners. It doesn't matter if he chose her._

Her knees almost seemed to buckle beneath her as the next thought formed behind her furrowed brow.

_Yes, it does matter that he chose her. It matters because… Because he didn't chose me._

The full weight of her feelings crashing down on her, Brennan had to lean on her desk for support.

_How did this happen? _When_ did this happen? Booth is my partner and my friend, nothing more. I've always been fine with that. What changed?_

Booth's voice caught her off guard.

"Temperance, please talk to me. I know something's wrong and I just want to help."

She couldn't turn. She couldn't speak. Her feet were rooted to the spot, her palms clammy against the desk. In that moment for the first time in years, Temperance Brennan didn't have a single clue what to do.

"Temperance, please."

Still she couldn't move, couldn't dare to open her mouth for fear of what she might say.

She felt his hand on her arm, gently pulling her round and forcing her to face him. Staring in to his eyes, Brennan felt totally lost and totally safe all in the same breath.

_Is this what falling in love feels like?_

Booth curled his forefinger under her chin, raising her head to meet his gaze full on.

"Bones, you told me once that you're my partner so I should just let you be my partner. Well, here I am telling you the same thing. Let me in, Bones. Let me be your partner."

The surge of emotions running through her was just too much and she jerked away, shaking his hand loose of her arm. Moving so that the desk was between them, she felt angry words bubble up her throat though she had no idea where they came from or why. Even before the words reached his ears, she knew she was just trying to push him away.

"Let _you_ in? Excuse me Booth, but how about letting _me_ in for a change! Who's the one that's been acting weird with everyone all day? Who's the one that's been having a secret relationship with my boss? Who's the one who didn't respect their partner enough to tell them what was going on? And I know that you're still hiding something from me, Booth. You're a terrible liar."

He just stared at her for a moment, obviously surprised by her unexpected outburst. She just stared back, jutting her chin out in defiance.

_I don't love him. I can't possibly love him. It's Booth for God's sake! _

_But then, why am I pushing him away? I always do this. The minute someone gets too close, the second someone starts to break down my walls, I force them out. I'm too scared of getting hurt to let anyone in. If anything, I'm surprised it's taken me this long to push Booth away…_

Booth took a tentative step forward, his eyes downcast as he spoke barely above a whisper.

"You're right, Bones, I have been hiding things from you, things that I should have told you right away. Things like Cam… But don't you dare think for a second that it's because I don't respect you or that I don't trust you. You're my partner and my friend. I would do anything in the world for you, I'd put my life on the line for you. But I've never had a relationship like this before and… Well, I guess I just got scared about telling you everything."

Slightly surprised by his frank admission, Brennan just stared at him as he took a couple of careful steps towards her and half rounded the desk.

"I know I've been acting weird with you and for that, I'm truly sorry. I'm also sorry for what it is that I have to tell you next."

The anger clawing its way up her throat seemed to change to fear as he raised his eyes to hers.

"What is it Booth?"

He swallowed hard, obviously trying to figure out what to say to her. He looked worried, really worried, and Brennan felt her stomach lurch.

"I had a phone call this morning from Cullen. It seems like you're not the only one who figured out what's going on between Cam and me."

"Cullen had a go at you for having a relationship with Cam? Surely that's none of his business. It's not like it's affecting your work."

Booth sighed heavily as his eyes darted about the room. Brennan raised an eyebrow as she pursed her lips.

"Please Booth, tell me it's not affecting your work…"

He raised his hands in front of him in a sign of surrender, crossing the last few feet between them as he frantically shook his head.

"No, Bones, of course it's not! But that doesn't stop other people thinking that it might or that it already has."

"What do you mean?"

"You know that last case we worked on, the one with the wife, the toy boy and the meat cleaver in the kitchen?"

She nodded slowly, wondering where he was going with this little stroll down memory lane.

"Well, it seems like the defence attorneys somehow found about it all and they want to bring up my relationship in court as a way of discrediting all the evidence. They seem to think that they can convince the jury that Cam and I have some kind of hidden agenda, that we manipulated the facts to reach the conclusions we wanted as a couple."

Brennan couldn't hide her disbelief as she laughed in her partner's face.

"They think that they can prove that you and Cam are some kind of criminal masterminds orchestrating the evidence to make the wife your fall guy? That's completely preposterous! The jury would never believe that."

Booth seemed surprised.

"Bones, I… I thought you'd be mad at me."

"What? Why?"

"Because I put our work in jeopardy. If the judge decided to rule that the defence attorneys were right, then all your hard work would be thrown in the trash."

"It's _our_ work, Booth, not mine. You're as much a part of this team as I am. And if you had intentionally put that at risk then yes, I would definitely be mad at you. Instead, all you've done is follow your biological and sociological urges to seek gratification with someone with whom you have a sexual rapport. That is perfectly understandable."

He cocked an eyebrow in her direction as he sighed with relief.

"Fancy giving the FBI big shots a dose of that anthropological mumbo jumbo in my defence? They're getting so nervous up there in their ivory towers that they're spitting out big words like ramification, embarrassment and reassignment."

Brennan's heart stopped in her chest.

"They want to reassign you?"

He turned to her, his eyes wide as he obviously realised his mistake.

"God Bones, I didn't mean it to come out like that."

But it was too late, the damage was done.

Brennan backed away from him, shaking her head as she stared at her partner, a man she now realised she barely knew at all.

"Just like you didn't mean for me to find out about you and Cam? What's with all the secrets, Booth? I thought that you respected me at least enough to be honest with me."

"I do, Bones. I just…"

"What? Thought you'd wait until a decision was made and then tell me on your way out the door?"

"Bones, it's not like that…"

"If they're talking about reassigning you, then they must think the defence team have a chance of proving their case about you and Cam, they must think that you really are a liability. Are you?"

Temperance Brennan, a woman who had spent almost her entire life locking her emotions away, was suddenly consumed by them.

_And it's all his fault. He's the one that makes me feel like this, he's the one that's put my work in jeopardy. That's all I've got. I can't lose it, even if it means losing him._

"Well, are you a liability?"

He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Deep down a part of her screamed at him, imploring him to say no, to say that he was her partner and that he would always be at her side. She wanted him to say that he would never put the work she took so seriously at risk, that he could never do anything to hurt her like this.

But no words came to him. But they did to her.

"Get out of my office."

He blinked rapidly, obviously unnerved by the bitterness dripping from her voice.

"What?"

"I said get out. I will not have you or anyone putting what we do at risk. That woman murdered an innocent 19 year old boy, not to mention the two bodies lying out there in my lab. I will not let you endanger their cases too."

"Bones, I…"

She didn't let him finish. Instead, she marched straight past him and held open the door.

"You just got your reassignment. You can get the paperwork from _Cam_."

He just stood there for a moment and stared at her. She stared right back, her gaze cold and unflinching. He opened his mouth to say something but just as quickly snapped it back shut as he moved towards the exit.

Pausing beside her in the doorway, Booth turned the full weight of his eyes on to her.

"Temperance, you know me. You said it yourself, I would never knowingly put our work at risk. I want answers, same as you, but I would never manipulate or contrive evidence to get them. I haven't done anything wrong here."

"You've lied. You've hidden things from me. As such, it's plainly obvious that you don't trust me so why should I trust you?"

"But we're partners, Bones! Do you seriously want to throw all that away over something as ridiculous as this?"

The door that slammed in his face was the only answer he would get.

* * *

**A/N: Is this the end for our favourite crime-fighting duo? Will Booth get reassigned to the back end of nowhere? Will Brennan admit how she really feels? Will we ever find out what Nate was doing in the lab or who trashed Angela's lab? And will they ever get around to identifying the pair in the park? These questions will all be answered in your next thrilling installment! Well, a couple of them might...**


	10. Hell Hath No Fury

**A/N: I'm really sorry that once again this took so long in getting to you. I've finally found a tiny bit of time to write this (the last hour to be precise) and I'm well aware it's not up to my usual standard. Not that that's particularly high anyway, but it's now 5:45am so I really don't care! **

From this coming weekend, I promise to be much speedier as I have a lot of time off. As such, it's time for me to launch my second pet project for which I'll need your help. Just to see how many of you actually read this, I'll leave details at the end. Reviews, as ever, are greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

* * *

Angela was curled up on the sofa staring at the chaos that was left of her office. No matter how much she tried not to look, her eyes were constantly pulled back to the ripped-up remains of the photograph on the desk nearby. 

Blinking back tears of frustration, Angela practically jumped to her feet and started going through her smashed belongings.

_My painting…_

A canvas covered in a swirl of green hues was basically shredded to pieces. With trembling hands as she settled on her knees, Angela attempted to hold the parts back together in a futile effort to reconstruct her work.

In the centre of the painting stood a lone figure, a man totally confident in his place amid the forest of green. A man who she was finally ready to admit that she loved.

_Jack Hodgins. Bug and sludge man extraordinaire…_

He had stayed by her side since she'd returned, holding her hand and wiping away her tears. He had become a tower of strength for her but the moment she said she needed a little time to herself, he gave her all the space she needed.

_How did I ever think that he wasn't what I wanted? How could I not see what was so damn obvious?_

Movement on the other side of the lab caught her eye and Angela turned her attention to Brennan's office. Her best friend was deep in conversation with her partner and Angela couldn't keep the smile from pulling at her lips.

_I guess I'm not the only one who can't see the obvious…_

Getting to her feet and cradling her injured arm to her chest, Angela leaned against the glass as she watched Brennan and Booth.

_They really are the dumbest smart people I've ever seen. Those two were simply made for each other. How can they not see that? Everybody else does. I think sometimes, even Cam sees it… _

However, it was becoming abundantly clear that they certainly didn't think so themselves as Brennan's face reddened with anger. Angela felt her stomach tighten.

_This does not look good…_

The next thing she knew, Brennan was slamming the door in her partner's face, leaving Booth standing alone with a look that seemed to verge on fear. After a few moments of staring at the wood in front of him, he turned away and trudged back through the lab.

Turning her attention to the scene on the other side of the door, Angela's gaze settled on her best friend. Brennan was stood stock still in the middle of her office, her shoulders slumped forwards as she dropped her head in to her hands.

Quickly and quietly, Angela slipped out of her door and crossed the lab toward her partner's office. As she approached, the artist watched as Brennan straightened up. Smoothing down her lab coat, her face seemed to harden to stone as she turned back to the door, opening it to reveal Angela stood there waiting.

The anthropologist didn't reveal a single hint of what had just happened as she faced her best friend.

"Angela, do you need something?"

Her eyes narrowed, she nodded slowly.

"Yes, actually I do. I need to talk to you."

Brennan's brow furrowed as she took her best friend's arm and led her back in to the office.

"Is something wrong? Is this about what happened earlier with Nate? The police have put an APB out on him. They'll find him, Ange, I'm sure of it."

The artist shook her head as she perched on the edge of the desk, staring her friend straight in the eye.

"No, Bren. I want to know what just happened between you and Booth."

The anthropologist immediately tensed up, her jaw setting in a taut line of defiance.

"Trust me, you don't have to worry about Booth anymore, Angela."

The artist rolled her eyes.

"Of course I do, sweetie, because _you_ do."

Temperance averted her gaze, her cheeks flushing. Angela frowned as she watched her.

_That looks more like anger than an embarrassed blush. What the hell has Mister Tall, Dark and Bone-Headed done to her now?_

Finally, Brennan raised her eyes though she still couldn't look directly at her friend.

"Well, I no longer have any reason to be concerned by Booth's actions so nor do you."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Brennan finally locked eyes with the artist and Angela was shocked to see nothing there but her own reflection, not a hint of emotion in the flat tone of her voice.

"Booth and I are no longer partners. He's being reassigned as we speak. So, you don't need to worry about any more undue distractions around the lab. I'm sure Deputy Director Cullen will provide us with an agent who is far more professional."

Angela decided she had no other choice but to go for the low blow.

"You mean one that won't sleep with your boss?"

Brennan didn't even bat an eyelid at the comment, which only served to worry her friend more.

Crossing the room to retrieve some files, Temperance simply nodded.

"Well, I'd say that was pretty unprofessional, don't you?"

Angela jumped to her feet, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"Bren, stop for a second and listen to yourself! Cam and Booth, it's just… God, I don't know what it is between them but you know full well that if it came down to a choice between you and anyone besides Parker, Booth would always pick you. Sweetie, you two are as close as a couple can get without falling into bed with one another. He would never do anything to risk that, even with Cam."

Temperance paused, the files clutched to her chest as she stared in to nothingness.

"But he has risked that, Ange. He's the one who's put all our work at risk by sleeping with _my _boss, he's the one that's jeopardised everything."

She spun around, leaving Angela speechless at the look of hurt and desperation in the anthropologist's eyes.

"All that you just said about the relationship I have…_had_ with Booth, I believed it too. At least until a few minutes ago. He's been hiding things from me, basically lying to me. A partner wouldn't do that, Ange, not if he really cared. So now there's lawyers and…"

Angela raised a hand as she stepped forward.

"Woah, slow down there! Lawyers?"

"The defence attorneys from our last case found out about Booth's relationship with Cam and they're using that as a way to destroy all our evidence and credibility. A murderer could walk free because he wasn't able to resist his biological urges! So Cullen told him that his bosses were deliberating over whether Booth should really remain as a liaison to the Jeffersonian."

Angela frowned.

"Wait, if they're still only deliberating, why are you so sure that Booth's being reassigned?"

The look on Brennan's face said it all.

"Oh sweetie, you told him to go, didn't you?"

The anthropologist just nodded as she bit her lower lip. Her posture, her trembling hands, everything about her screamed that she knew she'd done the wrong thing. Angela used her good hand to gently rub her friend's forearm.

Right in front of the artist's eyes, Brennan seemed to break. As tears threatened to spill over, she sunk down on to the sofa and stared at the files in her hands, her voice barely above a whisper as Angela crouched down beside her.

"I didn't know what else to do, Ange. He just makes me so mad sometimes!"

Reading between the lines, the artist decided to push what she thought her friend really meant.

"You mean his relationship with Cam?"

Brennan sighed heavily in response.

"He picked _her_. Even after everything we've been through together, he still picked her. Up until today, I didn't even think about Booth in that kind of a way, not really. He was my partner and my friend and I thought he felt the same way about me, I thought we both felt that one day we might…"

She angrily swiped away the tears snaking down her cheeks and shook her head.

"I was wrong, Angela. And now that I know how I really feel about him, how he _doesn't_ feel about me, what's the point in carrying on with some ridiculous charade of a partnership?"

Angela draped her arm around her friend's shoulders, hugging her tight.

"Sweetie, your partnership would never be a charade. And no matter what you think right now, Booth genuinely does love you. Anyone that's been around you two for more than thirty second's can see that."

The hope in her eyes almost broke Angela's heart.

"You really think so?"

"Oh sweetie, I _know_ so. It's so obvious! So why don't you call him up, get his peachy butt back here and talk about all of this properly with him?"

For a brief moment, Angela thought it was all about to be resolved and that Brennan and Booth were about to finally be honest with each other about how they really felt. But then that stony look of defiance began to creep across Brennan's features, turning that hopeful lovelorn woman in to a hardened stranger.

"There's no point, Ange. He'll be reassigned anyway. We should carry on with our work without him if we don't want that evidence _contaminated_ as well."

The disdain in her voice shocked Angela in to silence. As Temperance got to her feet and marched back out through the lab, there was a brittle hardness to her that Angela had never seen before.

Watching her best friend leave, the artist pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and prayed it wasn't too late.

_oo00oo_

Camille Saroyan was walking through the lab when she saw her boyfriend appear out of his partner's office and immediately felt her heart skip a beat.

_He's Booth, my heart always skips a beat. He's mine…_

Something about his demeanour stopped her in her tracks, just in time to see Brennan slam the door in his face.

_What the…?_

Booth just stared at the wood in front of him for a moment and she just stared at him. As he turned to leave, she found herself rooted to the spot.

_I want to go after him but I sure as hell don't want to get involved with whatever's going on between him and Brennan. It's complicated enough without me sticking my oar in…_

_Even so, Booth's upset. I should go to him, calm him down… Just like I should check if my star anthropologist is alright…_

_Now I understand why it's such a bad idea to mix business and pleasure._

Seeing Angela crossing the lab to go to Brennan's office, Cam nodded slightly.

_Well, Angela is her best friend so if she can't cheer Brennan up, there's not much point me being there. Which means I should check on Booth._

_Yeah, cos you really needed your arm twisting on that one Camille…_

Hurrying through the lab, she passed the open door to Brennan's office and jumped as she heard her name from inside. About to enter, she paused as she heard the tone of Angela's voice.

"…I don't know what it is between them but you know full well that if it came down to a choice between you and anyone besides Parker, Booth would always pick you. Sweetie, you two are as close as a couple can get without falling into bed with one another. He would never do anything to risk that, even with Cam."

_How dare she say that? What Booth and I have is real! It's… It's love._

_At least it is for me…_

Cam bit her lip as she listened from outside, barely able to hear Brennan's response above the pounding in her chest.

"But he has risked that, Ange. He's the one who's put all our work at risk by sleeping with _my _boss, he's the one that's jeopardised everything. All that you just said about the relationship I have…_had_ with Booth, I believed it too. At least until a few minutes ago. He's been hiding things from me, basically lying to me. A partner wouldn't do that, Ange, not if he really cared. So now there's lawyers and…"

Cam frowned.

_What the hell is she talking about?_

Doctor Saroyan had to suppress a laugh as Angela voiced the confusion they both shared.

"Woah, slow down there! Lawyers?"

"The defence attorneys from our last case found out about Booth's relationship with Cam and they're using that as a way to destroy all our evidence and credibility. A murderer could walk free because he wasn't able to resist his biological urges! So Cullen told him that his bosses were deliberating over whether Booth should really remain as a liaison to the Jeffersonian."

Cam felt her heart slow to an almost complete stop as her stomach dropped in to her shoes.

_He's told Brennan about this but not me? We're meant to be a couple, we're meant to share these things! It's as much my problem as it is his. Why wouldn't Booth tell me about this?_

Her anger beginning to boil, Cam barely heard Angela's response.

"Oh sweetie, you told him to go, didn't you?"

"I didn't know what else to do, Ange. He just makes me so mad sometimes!"

"You mean his relationship with Cam?"

Without realising it, Camille held her breath as she waited for the answer.

"He picked _her_. Even after everything we've been through together, he still picked her. Up until today, I didn't even think about Booth in that kind of a way, not really. He was my partner and my friend and I thought he felt the same way about me, I thought we both felt that one day we… I was wrong, Angela. And now that I know how I really feel about him, how he _doesn't_ feel about me, what's the point in carrying on with some ridiculous charade of a partnership."

_He picked me… And broke his partner's heart. Oh God…_

"Sweetie, your partnership would never be a charade. And no matter what you think right now, Booth genuinely does love you. Anyone that's been around you two for more than thirty second's can see that."

_I've heard enough…_

Spinning on her heel, Doctor Camille Saroyan marched towards her office.

_There's no way in Hell I'm going after Booth now. So what if he's been reassigned, so what if he's leaving me? Angela's right. _

_Anyone that's ever been around those two can see what's really going on there. She loves him and he loves her._

_So what if he's leaving? He was never with me in the first place._

In the quiet of the lab, Cam could have sworn she heard her heart break.

* * *

**A/N: How melodramatic! I swear the older I get, the more I veer towards emo... Anyway, I need your help. **

In case you don't know (and I'm sure most of you don't) I have a thing for making videos on YouTube. (Don't believe me? You can see check them out at ) My next project is to make a video of the top 10 Bones moments from Season One (and possibly Season 2 so far). I want actual votes! So please, either tell me what your favourite moments are in a review or message me through the site. I'll post the video on YouTube and the list on my profile page here. So, is it Booth saving Bren from Kenton, or dancing to Foreigner? Is it the trip to LA or christmas stuck in the lab? The person who gets their top 10 exactly as the final vote comes out will win a prize so please please please, let me know!

**Thanks for reading! **

PS: I have no idea what the prize might be just yet, but I swear there will be one... Honest!


	11. Formerly

**A/N: Ok, every time I upload stuff these days, I seem to start by apologising for the delay in getting stuff to you. And guess what folks, today's no different! I really am sorry that this has taken so long but suffice to say that time is not on my side at the moment. So I'll leave this in your capable hands while I go off to watch the latest Bones episodes. Is it wrong that I'm this excited about it being back? Seriously, I think I'm genuinely obsessed... Help me...**

* * *

Doctor Temperance Brennan was completely focused on her work. At least, that's how it appeared to the other workers milling around her in the lab.

Inside, however, the hardened scientist was in turmoil. The events of the day seemed to have conspired to throw her in to a situation she wasn't sure she could handle.

Every few minutes, Brennan felt her gaze being pulled towards her office, the entrance to the forensic platform or the main doors to the lab. She kept looking anywhere and everywhere that might signal the arrival of her partner.

_Former partner now…_

With a heavy sigh, Brennan ran a hand across her face and stretched out her aching muscles.

_What are you supposed to do when you realise how you really feel about someone you've already lost? I shouldn't have pushed him away but what else could I do? _

_Everybody's always left me one way or another. My parents deserted me, Russ left me in foster care before disappearing off with dad, even Michael Stires left me. The minute he betrayed me and my work, he left me. _

_Booth's basically done the same thing. By sleeping with Cam he deserted me long before I ever threw him out of my office. He must have known what might happen by getting involved with her._

Brennan stared down at the clipboard in front of her with a frown, not even focusing on the information swimming in front of her hand.

_Or am I just angry that he picked Cam over me? I could cope with Rebecca in his life. They were in love once and had a child together. That **meant**__something._

_Even his relationship with Tessa was bearable. It served to confirm my suspicions about the type of women he was attracted to: tall, leggy, sociable, well-structured blondes. _

_Nothing like me._

_That's why it was so easy to push my feelings aside. All of these women were nothing like me. It was obviously never going to be me. But Cam…_

The sound of laughter from a nearby workstation made Brennan jump. Looking around her, the scientist jutted her jaw out in an unconscious act of defiance. The last thing she wanted was for the world to know how she was feeling, how her emotions were threatening to take control.

Turning back to the work in front of her, Temperance tried in vain to drive away the images flooding her mind.

_All he's done by choosing Cam is prove that it's got nothing to do with types or physicality. It's just me. He doesn't want me. _

_So why the hell should I want him?_

With a heavy sigh, Brennan realised that the pounding in her chest told her all she needed to know.

_Because he's Booth._

The tears threatening to fall, Temperance practically sprinted back to her office. Kicking the door closed, she leant back against the wood and screwed her eyes shut.

_He's my partner and my friend. He's a great agent and a good father, an honourable man who fights for what he believes is right and does anything he can to protect the people he loves._

Dropping to the floor with her head in her hands, Brennan finally admitted to herself the very thing she'd been scared to think in all her time with Booth.

_He'll do anything for the people he loves._

_I guess I'm just not one of them._

_oo00oo_

Special Agent Seeley Booth couldn't stop pacing up and down his office.

He marched from one wall to the other and then straight back again, well aware of the curious glances he was receiving from the agents milling about in the bull pen outside.

_Everything seems to be going to hell in a handbasket and surprise surprise, Seeley, it's all your fault._

Flinging the small ball up and down with his right hand, he tried to formulate a plan. He knew that there had to be some way out of this situation. He just couldn't quite see what it was yet.

_Temperance threw me out of her office. She doesn't want me as her partner anymore and who can blame her? The way I've acted, the way I've treated her… I just don't know how to put things right._

A loud knock at his door made him jump. Turning around, he was surprised to find Cam standing in front of him with a look on her face he had never seen before. Frowning, he moved towards her.

"Cam? Are you alright? You look like hell."

Rolling her eyes, she moved inside and pulled the door closed behind her.

"Gee, thanks. You really know how to make a girl feel good about herself."

With a sheepish grin, Booth motioned her over to the chairs in front of his desk. She took a few steps further in to his office and then stopped, shaking her head slightly.

"No, Booth. I'm not staying."

"Ok, then what's up?"

Cam sighed heavily and folded her arms across her chest as Booth just watched her intently.

_Something's going on here and I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna like it…_

After a long moment of silence, she raised her eyes to his.

"Seeley, I think we both know that things haven't exactly been great today. What with Angela going missing and your arguments with Doctor Brennan - "

Cam paused and Booth knew all too well it was because he had flinched at the mention of his partner's name.

_Former partner…_

Nodding to herself with a tight smile, Cam took a deep breath and continued on.

"I know that things have been a little hard for you today and I just wanted to say… I guess I wanted to say that I'm sorry. Not because of anything you've done but because of what I have to do."

_What the hell is she talking about?_

The phone started ringing on the desk behind him, pulling his attention away from his girlfriend. Cam took a quick step forward, her hands clasped together so tight her knuckles were turning white.

"Seeley, please just let it go to voicemail. I have to talk to you. _Now_. If I don't…"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she averted her eyes. Ignoring the ringing behind him, Booth moved forwards, genuine concern on his face.

"Cam, what's going on?"

She didn't answer, she didn't look up. As the phone finally stopped ringing, he reached out to her.

"Cam, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Without looking up, she tentatively took his hand and Booth was surprised by the coldness of her touch. He was even more surprised that it lingered as she quickly withdrew her hand.

Looking down, he found a key lying across his palm.

_Ok, now I see where this is going… Way to kick a man while he's down Camille…_

Feigning ignorance, he turned his gaze back to her.

"What's this?"

She locked eyes with his, obviously doing her best to not look weak in front of him despite the fact she had blatantly been crying not too long before.

"It's the key to your apartment. I thought it was only right to give it back to you."

_I knew it…_

"So, you're breaking up with me then?"

There was no hurt in his voice, no disappointment, something that obviously didn't surprise his girlfriend.

_Former girlfriend…_

"We both knew it was coming sooner or later, Seeley. You and I never manage to make our relationship work, not really."

_This is verging on my worst day ever…_

"So all that stuff at the lab before, all that talk about how _I'm_ the one who wants to break it all off and that we're supposed to be partners, what was that about?"

The smile that crossed Cam's face wasn't one of happiness, nor was it one of bravery. It was the look of a woman who always attempted to be gracious in defeat.

"I've been an idiot, Booth, and so have you. Yes, today's been a tough day for all of us and it's not even close to being over yet. But can you honestly stand there and tell me that it hasn't made you realise what you really want? Can you honestly tell me that the woman standing in front of you right now is the one you really want to be with?"

Booth just stared at her, unsure of what to say. Cam's smile tightened as she offered up a shrug.

"That's what I thought."

She turned away and headed for the door.

_Like that taxi driver said last night, "You can't choose the people you fall for but you should never resist it. Sometimes that means hurting others but when it's as obvious as this, trust me, the people around you will already know"._

_Man, that guy's got a gift… He should work in Vegas or something…_

Booth took a brisk step forward just as Cam laid her hand on the door knob.

"Cam, I… I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I just… You're right. I've been a complete idiot. I really am sorry."

She stood there with her back to him for a moment before sighing heavily. Eventually she spoke, but she didn't turn to face him.

"I'm not the only one you hurt, Booth. And any fool can tell that she's the one you really care about. Call her. Before it's too late to fix this, just call the damn woman."

Booth stared at the spot she'd been stood long after she'd gone, weighing up his options.

_I do care about Cam but she's right, it's just not the same as how I feel about Bones. I mean, Bones is **Bones**. Nobody compares to her._

_I love her._

Spurring himself in to action, Booth grabbed his jacket and practically ran out of his office, praying he wasn't too late.

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**A/N: Almost forgot to mention, there's still time to give me your suggestions for the top 10 Bones Season 1 moments for the video. My next update (probably friday) will give you options to vote for. After that, I should have the vid up on YouTube by the next day. So please let me know what you think. I'm leaving this totally in your hands. That way if it all goes tits up, I can pretend I had nothing to do with it... Thanks for reading.**


	12. Identifying

**A/N: Ok kids, bit of a long one for you here so please stick with me. It's getting a bit angsty but I promise all the big issues are going to be properly dealt with soon enough. Just had to get this whole Emo phase out of my system... Also, thank you for all the reviews and support. You're all amazing and I appreciate the effort from all of you that R&R. You guys rock my world. **

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Hodgins looked up from his work station to see Doctor Brennan marching up on to the forensic platform with a face like thunder. Half tempted to ask what was wrong, the glare she cast over the bodies in front of her quickly put paid to that idea.

Glancing back in the direction Brennan had come from, Hodgins watched as Angela paced up and down inside her best friend's office. Quickly and quietly, he slipped away from his work to go and check on the woman he loved.

Walking in to the office, Hodgins pushed the door to just as Angela slammed her cell phone shut in frustration.

"Hey, what's up with Doctor Brennan? She's walking round the lab with the attitude of a Nazi commandant."

Angela sighed heavily as she perched on the edge of the desk.

"She and Booth had a fight. He's on the verge of reassignment so she basically kicked him out for good."

Hodgins raised a hand as he tried to process what was going on.

"Wait, reassignment? Why?"

"Because the big boys at the FBI aren't that happy with his relationship with Cam."

"That's ridiculous! Just because two people in the workplace get involved, it doesn't automatically affect their jobs or their performance at work."

Angela couldn't help but smirk at him.

"Ok, over identifying much?"

Hodgins offered up a sheepish grin and a shrug before turning to look through the window and back over the lab.

"So Doctor Brennan got mad, huh? What did she do, accuse him of being a liability and jeopardising her work?"

Angela shook her head in mild disbelief.

"You're pretty good at this."

He winked at her playfully over his shoulder.

"Well, I learnt from the best."

He turned back to face the lab as Angela moved to his side, sliding her arm through his.

"I just tried calling Booth. I wanted to get him to come back here and sort all this out."

Hodgins turned his piercing blue eyes on her, examining her profile in the dim light.

"Well, if all this is just about work, when all the reassignment stuff blows over, she'll forget all about it."

Angela shook her head sadly, her gaze focused on her best friend.

"This is Booth and Brennan we're talking about here, it's never just about work. They're just both too damn stubborn to admit it even though to the rest of us, it's as clear as day."

Hodgins smiled, his heart fluttering in his chest.

"Well, it just takes some people a while to see what's right in front of them."

Angela caught his gaze, their eyes locking with one another's. A slow smile spread across her lips as she gently squeezed his arm. After a long moment, Hodgins cleared his throat and turned his gaze back to Brennan's solitary figure on the forensic platform.

"The day she admits she's fallen for her partner is the day she's gotta let her guard down. I'm not sure if she's ready for that. Doctor Brennan always holds everyone at arm's length, even you Ange. I mean, before I thought that maybe…"

He tailed off, staring in to space. Angela frowned at him, a look of concern obvious in her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Hodgins blinked rapidly, his entire body tensing up.

"When we buried underground in that car, we both wrote notes. You know, a way of saying goodbye I guess. Mine was… mine was to you. I'll give you three guesses who Doctor Brennan wrote hers to."

Angela just smiled.

"Could it possibly be her knight in shining FBI issue body armour?"

Hodgins grinned back at her.

"The one and only. But he's with Cam now, right? So maybe Doctor Brennan really is barking up the wrong tree."

Angela rolled her eyes as she turned to face him.

"Are you kidding me? That guy would lay down his life for her. He literally almost has a few times in case you've forgotten. Whether they want to admit it or not, those two are perfect for each other."

Hodgins cocked an eyebrow in her direction.

"Angela… I sense you having a plan here."

She grinned as she turned to look back at her best friend.

"Oh yes Jack, I'm a criminal mastermind… But you've got to admit, getting those two crazy kids together would be well worth it."

Hodgins sighed.

"Right now, I think just getting the two of them talking again would be hard enough."

Angela cast a sly wink at him.

"Give me time, Hodgy, just give me time..."

_oo00oo_

Seeley Booth was tapping his foot against the carpet in frustration as he waited what seemed like hours for the lift. Eventually, the doors slid open.

"Hallelujah!"

As he practically charged towards the doors, Deputy Director Cullen stepped out with a severe look on his face, stopping Seeley in his tracks.

"Ah Agent Booth, just the man I was looking for. My office. _Now…_"

As the Deputy Director marched off down the corridor, Booth's heart seemed to lurch up in to his mouth.

_This is it… He's going to reassign me and I'm never gonna work with Bones again. She'll never forgive me._

_I guess she was right. I guess I really have become a liability. Not to the work but to something way more important than that._

_I became a liability to our relationship. And now I've lost everything. I've lost her._

Attempting to keep his head held high, Booth trudged off down the hall to meet his fate.

_oo00oo_

Doctor Brenan was examining the second body the team had removed from the park when Zach approached.

Barely glancing up from the remains, she pointed down at the bones.

"Zach, tell me what you see."

The socially inept assistant squinted at the remains.

"There is a strange variety of bone markers that shouldn't be seen together, inconsistencies that I have never seen before on a skeleton. The glabella and zygomatic bones show both male and female characteristics, though male appears to be the most prominent."

Zach turned his eyes back to his teacher just as Hodgins and Angela arrived on the platform.

"Doctor Brennan, could this be a hermaphrodite?"

Hodgins's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

"You mean this person was, you know, both a girl and a boy? Like a chick with a di-"

A sharp elbow in the ribs from Angela stopped Hodgins before he could finish his thought. Brennan just gave him a quick glare and turned back to her assistant.

"No, that's not it. If the victim was a hermaphrodite then there would be one prominent gender and only some hints towards the other. In this case, the gender markers are the result of extensive surgery."

She pointed down at the point between where the eyebrows once were.

"See here? These cut marks are evidence of extensive cranioplasty, not to mention the large amount of augmentation to the supra-orbital rims and the mandibular angle."

Brennan's gaze continued down to below the jaw where she nodded to herself slowly.

"This victim even underwent chondrolaryngoplasty surgery."

Angela shook her head.

"Ok, now you're just making stuff up."

"Chondrolaryngoplasty is when the thyroid cartilage of the neck is shaved to remove the tell-tale Adam's apple, usually as part of masculinising genitoplasty."

Angela just stared at her. Brennan sighed and reworded her answer.

"It's part of the sex change operation when a man undergoes surgery to become a woman."

"Ahhh… Now I'm with you."

The artist turned to look down at the bones in front of them.

"I never realised just how much pain they had to go through to change like that…"

Though Brennan was intensely preoccupied by the situation she had found herself in with her partner, even she couldn't fail to miss the sad tone to her best friend's voice.

"Angela…?"

The artist seemed to snap out of a daze, blinking rapidly as she refocused on the group. Brennan and Hodgins shared a confused shrug as Angela spoke.

"Well, the good news is that if this victim did go through a sex change then identification should be relatively easy. I mean, statistically speaking not that many people must actually get it done -"

Zach interrupted without even looking up from his work.

"Between seven and twelve thousand sex reassignment surgeries have allegedly taken place in America to date, around half of them male to female."

Hodgins moved to the grad assistant's side.

"Seriously dude, try going out on a Saturday night…"

Seeing the look of confusion on Zach's face, Angela decided to finish her point before he could interrupt her again.

"Anyway, what I'm saying is that I can run a statistical analysis on the images I get from the skull and try to apply masculine averages over the feminine features. Then I can run the best results past any hospitals or clinics that perform the surgery and see if it matches any of their patients. Hopefully, he… _she_ will be pretty easy to identify."

Brennan nodded.

"That's great news, Angela. Once we find out who she is, it'll be easier to track down the husband too."

Hodgins frowned down at the two victims in front of them.

"I don't get it, Doctor Brennan. I'm surprised you're not excited. I mean, aren't these two offering you up a fascinating anthropological anomaly?"

Snapping off her latex gloves, Temperance sighed.

"Throughout history, people have struggled to conform to whatever society has decided is 'normal'. Some people have even had to struggle with themselves. Whether it be over sexuality or gender, the important thing is that this person appears to have won. They changed, yes, but the wedding rings and the manner of their burial suggests that this person found someone who was willing to accept them for all their faults."

She stared down at the victim, her expert eyes finally seeing past the bone markers and surgical alterations to see the smiling face of the woman she knew Angela would eventually create.

"This woman, no matter how lonely she felt whilst coming to terms with who she was, she found someone who she loved. She found someone she actually ended up dying with, someone who loved her so much they were even buried hand in hand, side by side…"

Brennan blinked rapidly, regaining her self control.

_Stop it Temperance. You sound like an emotional idiot. You're an empirical scientist, this isn't you._

Looking up at the group around her, she felt the blush of embarrassment creep across her cheeks at their bemused expressions. Turning away, she heard Hodgins whisper to Angela.

"And you think I'm the one who over identifies?"

Brennan pretended she hadn't heard him as she spun on her heel, barking orders.

"Zach, I want cause of death for both victims. Check with Cam about any remaining tissue she wants to examine and then boil the bones to get a better view of their injuries. Angela, once the skull's ready, run it through the Angelator. In the meantime, you had better start approaching the hospitals that perform gender reassignments to let them know you need their help. Hodgins, you said that the crossover of particles on the victims' clothing might help to identify where they were before they ended up in the park. Work on that."

Before any of them had a chance to respond, she marched off the forensic platform and in to her office. Closing the door quietly, she settled at her desk and stared at the blank computer screen.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the small plastic pig standing proud beside her phone. Jasper was a present from Booth, a way for him to show his support and his friendship.

She refused to look at it now.

_I over reacted to those bodies. What's happening to me? I don't act like that, it wasn't like me at all._

Leaning back in her chair, she ran a tired hand across her face as she attempted to analyse and explain what had just happened.

_I identified with her, that's the problem. I imagined her being scared and confused as she grew up, awkward in who she was. And then when she finally got the surgery, she gained a real identity, a real idea of herself. And that's what probably helped her find her partner. Replace the surgery with a love of science, and it's my life._

_But I've never seen myself so much in a victim before. I've always been detached, always held my emotions in check. But then when have I ever thrown Booth out of my office before? When have I ever admitted even to myself what my true feelings are towards him?_

_I guess today really is a day of firsts. Like the day I'll lose my first partner due to reassignment._

_A reassignment I forced on him because I couldn't stand to see yet another person I've loved walk away. I thought it would be easier by making it my own choice._

_It's not._

Closing her eyes to try and force back the tears, Temperance Brennan realised that the walls she had spent her entire life building had finally collapsed, leaving her crushed in the rubble. And the man who'd cracked her defences, the one man who always rescued her, was nowhere to be seen. She'd driven him away and he wasn't coming back.

Alone in the dark of her office, Doctor Temperance Brennan began to cry.

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**A/N: Told ya it was angsty... Should have the next chapter up by sunday night/monday morning. I promise there's a lot more action coming your way, including the reappearance of Nate, a mysterious stranger, and at least one more dead body... Thanks for reading.**

PS: The top Season 1 Bones moments as suggested by you guys will be listed on my profile page in the next few days. You need to vote for your top five cos YouTube only allows videos under 10 minutes. Damn rules...


	13. Persuasion

**A/N: My, my... Fancy seeing you here! Come here often sweetheart? Yes, I'm having a very weird day today so please excuse me and any blatant errors in this chapter I haven't had time to check. Still a little on the angsty side, but you know what? Isn't love basically angsty until you get to the admission and the fluffiness of the relationship (or in some cases, best to replace fluffiness with torture... Maybe that's just because of some of the guy's I've dated though.) Anyhoo, hope you like it. Next chapter should be up tues night / weds morning. I'm very excited for wednesday's episode by the way. Stephen Fry is in it. I think I just peed my pants with excitement. Not really obviously. That would be wrong. And messy. Ewwwww... Oh, and just to make this the longest author's note in history, just one more thing. The top 10 Bones moments are at the end of this. Please vote for your top 5 and I'll have the video up soon as I can, probably by the end of the week. If you don't vote, you can't complain later. So there... I'll let you actually read the story now. I can't believe you actually read all this guff... Thanks though!**

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Angela Montenegro had spent well over an hour attempting to contact as many of the hospitals and clinics she could find that performed gender reassignment surgeries in an attempt to get their help identifying the body from the park. While everyone she had spoken to had been polite, Angela felt increasingly exasperated with their lack of help. 

Slipping past the numerous workers milling about the lab, Angela clutched the pile of files to her chest and marched up the metal steps to the gangway. Glancing around to check the area was empty, she sat herself down at the table with her back to the lab.

She had to focus incredibly hard on not turning around and scouring the place for Nate. The truth was she was scared, scared to see someone else in her office, terrified of yet another intrusion.

_I can't stand to be in my own office anymore. Someone violated my space, my life, they ruined my work. I don't even know how much longer I can stand to be in this building._

_Why would someone do this to me? What have I done to deserve this?_

She stared down at the file in front of her, her hands in her lap as she tried to decide whether or not to open it. Eventually, she gave in and flipped open the manila folder.

Ignoring the taste of bile creeping up her throat, Angela carefully removed the individual evidence bags and arranged them in front of her on the table.

First came her white shirt, now stained with blood. Pushing it aside, she focused on the letter that had caused her to run. Under her breath, she read it aloud.

"He that is without sin amongst you, let him cast the first stone." - John 8:7

You're hardly without sin, are you sweet Angela? You've entered the world where Angelas fear to tread. Time to run little painter, run away.

You know what's coming. Or did you already forget me? Don't worry, you'll be joining your little Kirk soon enough.

Big kisses baby girl.

I'll see you soon."

_Even now, I don't understand. It doesn't make any sense to me._

Shaking her head, Angela turned to the photos that lay crisp and seemingly untouched in the plastic baggies.

_Kirk…_

She traced the contours of his face with her finger, smiling at the memories frozen in front of her. The way she was laughing as she nuzzled his neck, the way his arm curled around her protectively, the way his smile and the look in his eyes mirrored her own.

_We were in love…_

She closed her eyes to steel herself against the images that came flooding back, not noticing the single tear which managed to escape until she heard it plop on the plastic. Worried she may have inadvertently contaminated the evidence, Angela's eyes flew open and immediately focused on the one thing she didn't want to see again.

The torn up photo of herself, her eyes streaming blood. Swallowing hard, she stared at the reassembled pieces, trying to make sense of the message scrawled beneath her mutilated figure.

_Why am I a traitor? What have I done?_

After a long couple of minutes hopelessly staring at the evidence, Angela dropped her head in to her hands and closed her eyes.

Normally, she would go and talk to Brennan but that wasn't even a choice today. Her best friend was far too absorbed in the whole Booth situation for Angela to go and bother her.

_She'd try and help, but all she'd really be doing is distracting herself from Booth's potential reassignment. I want those two almost-lovebirds to sort things out and they can't do that if I'm pulling Bren away._

_So where does that leave me? I know I could talk to Hodgins but it's still early days between us. I've already screwed things up before by telling him to back off after our date. I don't want to push him away again._

_But how can I tell him? How can I possibly admit just how scared I am to walk in to my own damn office, to check my own mail? I know it's completely irrational but I'm terrified._

Angela tensed up, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end as she felt the sensation of someone watching her. Slowly, she straightened up, staring right ahead of her. She paused for a few seconds before snapping her head to the left and right, her eyes narrowing as she scoured the area around her.

Nothing. There was nobody there.

_See, I'm even getting scared by my own shadow now. _

Sighing heavily, Angela glanced down at the evidence in front of her and remembered what had happened to her when she ran away from it all, when she escaped the lab. She hadn't dared to say anything yet, not with the warning she'd received. She'd not even told her closest friend.

_If I told them what really happened, maybe that would help, maybe that could sort everything out, maybe then I'll stop being scared._

She felt a chill run through her entire body as she remembered the menacing voice as it dealt her the grave warning all those hours before.

_Or maybe it'll just get us all killed._

_oo00oo_

Hodgins gathered up the stack of papers in front of him, excited by his new discovery. Marching round his work station, he quickly circled a few key results and made his way towards his boss's office.

_So what if Cam's technically in charge? She might be doing a great job and all but Brennan was my boss first. Plus, the amount of money I pump in to this place, it's not like either of them can fire me…_

Looking up, he saw Brennan leaning back in her chair and staring up at the ceiling. From behind the closed door, he could have sworn he heard the muffled chorus of some old Foreigner song.

_Man, this is whole reassignment thing has really gotten to her. I just hope Booth sucks it up and admits what a jackass he's been before he drives her away completely._

Not wanting to be rude, Jack knocked loudly on the door and waited for his boss's terse response over the muted music.

Strolling inside, he almost stopped in his tracks when he saw the state of the anthropologist. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, her blue eyes dulled by their redness and there were smudges of mascara down her cheeks.

Pretending he hadn't noticed the fact she'd been crying, Hodgins smiled as he laid the reports down on the desk in front of her.

"Hot blooded?"

She blinked rapidly as she looked up at him.

"Excuse me?"

"The song you were playing before. 'Hot Blooded' right?"

She blinked again, though this time she appeared to be forcing back tears as she bit her lower lip and nodded.

Hodgins just stared down at her as she read through his findings.

_If Booth doesn't sort this out, I'm gonna kick his federal ass… Well, I might have to hire some big, burly weightlifter called Knuckles, but I'll get his ass well and truly kicked one way or another._

Temperance spoke without looking up.

"And you've double checked your results from the mass spectrometer? We were having problems with it yesterday."

"Yes, Doctor Brennan. I followed the protocol to the letter even though it's usually a complete waste of time."

He was surprised that she didn't even bother to defend the rules of the lab.

_Woah, things really are serious…_

It was then something occurred to Hodgins, something that hadn't really crossed his mind before.

_Booth and Doctor Brennan are just as stubborn as one another. Maybe Booth's already tried to patch things up and she's not budging… No, because then why would she be crying? Well, if she's crying then that proves just how much she cares about the guy so maybe she'd be willing to make the first move here…_

"Hodgins?"

He blinked, crash landing back in to reality as Brennan handed him back the reports.

"Sorry, I was, uh, calculating some things… In my head… Because I'm a scientist."

She arched an eyebrow at him but made no further comment, turning back to the blank computer screen and sighing heavily. Taking a deep breath, Hodgins decided he had to take the risk.

_Hell, it might even work. Now that sure would impress Angela. That's it, I'm definitely going for it…_

He took a small step forward.

"Doctor Brennan?"

She turned to face him but he didn't give her the chance to ask what else he wanted.

"Look, I don't want to be out of line here and I know Angela's the one you'd choose to talk to about this kind of thing but you gotta remember, I was the one who was down in that hole with you. I saw what you wrote. I saw what you really feel about him."

Brennan opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. She just sat there staring at him, her mouth agape. Hodgins felt slightly uncomfortable but he knew he couldn't back out, not now.

"Doctor Brennan, I know you've had it pretty tough. You've had to watch the people you love walk away from you. So why the hell would you want to push him away as well, the one person in the world you know for sure you can trust?"

Her mouth now shut, the anthropologist's somewhat bemused expression had been replaced by a look of indignant rage.

"All I'm saying is, life's too short. You've got nothing to lose baby."

He spun on his heel and marched away, pausing in the doorway with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry, but I swear the whole 'baby' thing really is just a reflex…"

Scurrying away before she'd have the chance to throw any heavy objects at his head, he spotted Angela trotting up the stairs. Curious where she was going and just wanting to check how she was feeling, Hodgins followed her up.

Reaching the communal area that looked down on the rest of the lab, he saw Angela sitting at the table going through a file and couldn't keep the grin off his lips.

_She really is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen._

_God, I love that woman…_

Tip-toeing towards her, he felt the grin stretch from ear to ear.

_And she actually seems to like me too. I'm the luckiest man in the world._

But then something stopped him in his tracks, something just registering in his love-addled brain.

_Kirk. She's looking at photos of Kirk._

He watched as she trailed a finger down the side of her lost lover's face, a look of pain and regret burning in her eyes.

Jack felt his stomach tighten.

_Does she like me? I mean really? The way that she lost Kirk was horrible and a complete shock. She loved him and he loved her. To lose him like that…_

_I'm just a temporary replacement, I'm the rebound guy._

Swallowing hard, Hodgins backed away and tried to ignore the pang of guilt he felt at seeing a single tear roll down her face.

_I don't want to lose her but if she still loves Kirk, I'd be taking advantage. That's not the kind of man I am, especially not with someone as special as her. I'll be there for her as much as she needs but I guess she just needs space._

Practically sprinting down the stairs, he didn't see her turn and she didn't see him leave. Ignoring the urge to turn around, Hodgins headed straight for his workstation.

_I'm practically the richest man in the world, I can have basically anything that I want._

He couldn't help but steal a glance up at her.

_But all I want is her.  
_

_

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_

**A/N: You know what, I actually kinda love Hodgins. He's just so darn cutesy! Anyway, here's the top ten Bones moments from season 1. You need to vote for your favourite five. So, in no particular order, here goes...****  
****1.) Booth saving Brennan from Kenton. 2.) Dancing together in the bar in 'The Man In The Bear'. 3.) Dancing to Foreigner/Booth getting blown up. 4.) Brennan in court in 'The Girl In The Fridge'. 5.) Brennan breaking down in the barn with Booth's support in 'The Woman In Limbo'. 6.) The "You missed me" conversation from 'The Man on the Fairway'. 7.) Booth breaking down in the cemetery at the end of 'The Soldier on the Grave'. 8) Brennan accidentally getting in a fight in the club in 'The Man In The Wall'. 9) Doctor Goodman giving Angela a nice version of her job description. 10) Booth high at christmas in 'The Man in the Fallout Shelter'.**

**And don't forget, if you don't vote then you can't complain about the results later... Thanks for reading kids.**


	14. What The Heart Wants

**A/N: First off, thank you to everyone who's voted so far. To everyone who's about to vote (yes, that includes you... yes, you reading this right now...) please vote for your top 5 in order of preference or else there might be a tie. My brain just can't handle that kind of thing right now. For details of which to vote for, check the A/N at the end of the previous chapter. Also, my broadband connection is shot to pieces (I'm uploading this from my lovely brother's house) so I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be up. Hopefully by Friday but no promises kiddies, sorry. I'm now going to go and count down the minutes till the next episode (Stephen Fry as a psychologist, genius!!) so give this a quick looky-loo and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Doctor Camille Saroyan marched through the lab with her nose buried in a file in an attempt to look busy. The last thing she wanted was to speak to anybody, not the way she was feeling right now.

_I know I did the right thing. How could I ever really be happy if he's not happy being with me? It's so obvious that I'm not the one he wants. I don't think I ever was._

She couldn't help but look through the glass wall of Brennan's office and was surprised to see just how upset her star forensic anthropologist looked. Frozen in the middle of the lab, Cam wasn't sure what to do.

_Maybe if I tell her that Booth and I aren't together anymore… Then what? Maybe they'll get together, maybe they'll live happily ever after like in some corny fairytale. Is that what I really want to see though? I mean, it's one thing to let him go and walk away but it's another thing to see him settling down with her._

Sighing heavily, Cam turned away from the office and started walking towards her autopsy lab. After a few steps though, the guilt began to settle in. Rolling her eyes, she turned on her heel and marched back the way she had come.

Swallowing her pride, she knocked on Brennan's door and strolled inside. Temperance glanced up from the file she obviously hadn't been reading. Before she had a chance to say anything, Cam perched on the edge of her desk and folded her arms across her chest.

"You still not talking to him?"

Brennan frowned at her boss.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."

Cam rolled her eyes.

"Doctor Brennan, you know full well who I'm talking about."

Brennan sighed heavily.

"Look Cam, I know he's your boyfriend but I really don't think -"

She didn't give her a chance to finish.

"Actually, we've broken up."

Brennan looked incredibly awkward as she practically squirmed in her seat.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that."

Cam waved a hand through her hair, feigning nonchalance.

"Don't be. I… I wasn't the one he wanted. You know that."

Brennan couldn't look her boss in the eye and Cam tried to pretend the whole situation wasn't getting to her. Practically jumping to her feet, she looked down at the anthropologist with a sad smile.

"Doctor Brennan, if you'll let me give you some advice, stop being so analytical about everything and especially don't analyse love. It's not logical, it's not rational. It's not meant to be. Just go with what feels right. And I don't think you could ever look me in the eye and say being around Booth doesn't feel right to you."

Brennan just stared at her as Cam went to the door, planning on never mentioning the whole thing ever again.

_Sometimes doing the right thing doesn't always feel so good…_

"Camille?"

She froze in the doorway, surprised at the vulnerability in the anthropologist's voice. Turning slowly, she arched an eyebrow at her as Brennan got to her feet.

"Thank you."

Cam didn't know what to say as the two women stared at each other.

They'd never been close, they'd never even really been friends, but right then they realised that they understood each other more than anyone else did. They knew what each other's hearts wanted.

They both wanted Seeley Booth. They both needed him more than they'd like to admit.

Cam swallowed hard and nodded slowly.

"You're welcome."

She smiled, watching as Brennan grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair.

"Where are you going?"

Brennan smiled back as she passed her on the way out of her office.

"I'm taking your advice, Cam. I'm going to see Booth."

Cam watched her go with a smile.

_I genuinely hope things work out for those two. But I can't watch it happen. _

_Not yet. It still hurts._

_oo00oo_

Booth sat in Cullen's office with his back ram-rod straight, his palms sweaty against his knees and his heart pounding in his ears.

He watched as Cullen paced up and down behind his desk, a frown furrowing his brow. The nerves in Booth's stomach had become tangled in to an enormous ball as he waited for the decision about his potential reassignment.

Eventually, Cullen turned to face his best federal agent and settled in his chair.

"I've got to say, Booth, I'm surprised."

Seeley frowned, not understanding where his boss was going.

"Sir?"

Cullen just shrugged as he stared down the agent.

"I have to admit that despite your history with Doctor Saroyan, I always thought that you were going to end up with your partner. I mean, Doctor Brennan can be infuriating at times but you two seemed to have something special going on."

Booth didn't know what to say, feeling decidedly uncomfortable that his boss was talking to him about his love life.

"Look, Agent Booth, all I'm saying is that you should have seen this coming. The job we do, it pushes people together but it also tears them apart. If you're going to risk everything for a woman, you just better make sure it's someone worthwhile."

He sighed heavily as he leaned forward across the desk.

"Right now, I'm the only one standing between you and reassignment. And we're talking you getting shipped out to the middle of Alaska here. But what with Nathaniel Rouse's reappearance and the current caseload, I've managed to convince the Director to let you stay."

Booth couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you."

Cullen pointed a finger at him, his eyes narrowing as he spoke.

"Don't get me wrong here, Booth, you're on your last chance. You put a single foot wrong…"

"I understand, sir. Thank you again."

"Thank me by putting that psycho ex-mentor of yours behind bars. Now get the hell out of my office."

Booth practically sprinted through the bull pen, feeling the relief surging through his veins. Marching in to his own office, he settled behind his desk and reached for the phone.

_I need to make things right with Bones. But how can I admit how I really feel about her? If I do, I'll get kicked out and probably never see her again._

_Maybe it's better to suffer in silence with her by my side, than being honest and suffering alone._

_oo00oo_

Brennan parked her convertible in the FBI parking structure, trying to decide just what to say to her partner. She felt uncomfortable but couldn't really explain why.

_Maybe it's just because I'm going to have to be honest about how I really feel and risk losing him. Everyone else I've cared about has walked out on me. Why wouldn't he?_

Eventually, Brennan swallowed her pride and clambered out of the car. Arming the alarm system, the bleeps echoing through the deserted parking lot hid the footsteps running up behind her.

Suddenly, a hand was covering her mouth. Out of pure instinct, she jabbed her right elbow backwards, attempting to get her attacker in his solar plexus and wind him enough to break free.

But the man jerked to the left, anticipating her move, so she grabbed his wrist in an attempt to wrench his hand away from her mouth. Before she could really try, she felt the cold metal of a gun barrel against her temple.

Frozen to the spot, Brennan heard the familiar voice in her ear.

"Don't struggle, Temperance, I don't want to hurt you. Well, not _too_ much."

_oo00oo_

Booth sat in his office staring at the file on Angela's break in. The words swimming in front of his eyes, he dropped his head in to his hands.

_This is ridiculous. I'm being a complete idiot. Now that I know that I'm staying, there's no reason that I can't just go back to being partners with Bones, go back to the way things were before. Nothing's really changed._

He sighed heavily as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

_But things have changed. I'm not with Cam anymore because she could see the one thing I was too scared to admit, the fact that I'm in love with partner. I think I have been since the moment we met. Even though she drove me up the wall, I think even then I loved her._

_But I guess I just have to try and make it work. I have to try and make it right._

His mind made up, he grabbed the handset and dialled the number for his partner's office. The phone rang and rang, far longer than she would ever usually leave it.

Eventually, someone picked up though they'd obviously run to get the phone. The panting at the other end made it hard for Booth to recognise the voice.

"Bones?"

There was a pause before the familiar voice answered.

"Uh, no Booth. It's Cam."

Seeley squirmed in his seat, feeling incredibly awkward having to talk to his ex.

"Oh, right. Uh, is Bones around?"

"You mean she's not with you?"

Booth frowned down the phone.

"Why would she be here?"

"Well, Doctor Brennan left for your office about 45 minutes ago."

Booth felt his stomach lurch as he dropped the handset, his worst fears swarming his mind.

_Nate…_

_

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_

**A/N: Dun dun derrrrrrr...!!!! Hee hee, anyway I hope to get the next chapter up by friday. Find out what happened to Bones about then. Thanks for reading!**


	15. Breaking Bones Part One

**A/N: I'm really sorry this is late, ladies & jellyspoons, but I had one hell of a migrane so this is the first time I've crawled out of my very dark bedroom in over 36 hours. As a result, this one's very short because it was originally the first part of the next chapter but I didn't have time to check all of it. The next part should be up tomorrow night. I'm really sorry for the delay. Also, because I'm now seriously behind on everything, you still have time to vote for your top 5 season 1 moments (details in the A/N at the end of chapter 13). If you don't vote, you don't get a say in it. I still don't have broadband back till weds so it'll probably be up soon after that. Anyways, thanks for all your reviews, votes and support. You guys rock my world (especially Ava, she's my muse...). Thanks for reading.**

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Zach Addy had been called many things over the years. 'People person' had never been one of them. But just because he struggled to hold a conversation with other people, it didn't mean he didn't care and it certainly didn't mean he couldn't notice when things weren't right.

Sitting on the forensic platform examining the bodies from the park, he couldn't help but notice what was going on around him.

Angela was walking around in a teary daze, Hodgins was casting longing looks in her direction every few seconds, Cam was hiding away in the autopsy suite and Doctor Brennan was nowhere to be seen.

Turning back to his work, Zach carefully examined the gunshot wound to the first victim while his mind assessed the situation in the lab.

_Obviously the events from earlier today have upset Angela which has caused Hodgins to worry about her. As for Doctor Saroyan and Doctor Brennan, as usual I suspect that Agent Booth is somehow involved…_

Something in the victim's ribs caught Zach's eye. Picking up a pair of tweezers, he carefully extracted some small metal fragments and dropped them in to a Petri dish. Examining them under the microscope, he frowned and spun his stool around to look at the other victim.

His tweezers hovering above the neck, he gently pulled some lose fibres from the shattered vertebrae in her neck. Putting them in a Petri dish on the workstation beside the metal fragments, Zach blinked rapidly.

Turning back to the transgender victim, the grad assistant arched an eyebrow as he carefully peeled back the rotting clothing to examine the decomposing flesh underneath.

Hodgins wandered over, a stack of reports tucked under his arm as he attempted to keep his eyes off Angela's office.

"Hey Zach, how's it going?"

The metal fragments catching his eye, he didn't give him a chance to answer.

"Oooh, shiny!"

Zach rolled his eyes as he watched the scientist.

"They appear to be fragments of a reasonably small calibre bullet and I've also found some microscopic fibres in the second victim's fractured vertebrae."

He pointed at the chest he had just uncovered.

"I'm focusing on this right now though."

Hodgins craned his neck to look down at the body.

"What do you… Oh. I see."

With Zach using a gloved finger to carefully push the decomposing flesh back to where it would have normally lain, a pattern began to emerge. Hodgins and Zach shared a look.

"We'd better find Doctor Brennan."

_oo00oo_

Special Agent Seeley Booth stared at the phone he had dropped to the floor.

_This isn't happening. This can't be happening…_

His heart pounding, the agent's mind was racing.

_Maybe she really is just running late, maybe nothing's happened at all. It's rush hour right now, maybe it's just bad traffic. _

Digging his cell phone out of his pocket to call her, he felt how much his hands were shaking.

_Something's happened. I know it. I have an instinct for this kind of thing, especially with her. It's my Bones. Something's happened._

Jabbing his partner's speed dial button, he listened with baited breath as the phone just kept ringing and ringing in his ear. Eventually it switched to voice mail and Booth found himself lost for words.

_What can I possibly say to make her understand how I feel right now, how I feel about her? She's my partner, I'm supposed to protect her. I'm the one with the gun for Christ sake and I just left her on her own, even with Nate somewhere out there and breaking in to the Jeffersonian._

_If anything's happened to her, it's my fault. I don't think I could ever forgive myself. I can't lose her. Not now._

Swallowing hard, he tried to keep his voice level as he left her a message.

"Uh, Bones, it's me. It's Booth. Where are you? Cam said you left the office nearly an hour ago. I'm gonna try your apartment but please, even if you're still mad at me, just give me a call when you get this. Please. I just… I need to know you're ok. Just call me."

He snapped the phone closed and squeezed his fist tight around it, willing her to ring him back.

But the call never came.

Sighing heavily, he grabbed his jacket and practically sprinted across his office. Realising he'd left his car keys on his desk, he span round to grab them. Sensing someone behind him, he turned slowly, praying his partner was already here.

Instead he found Deputy Director Cullen stood in the doorway, a look in his eye that paralysed Booth immediately.

"Booth… We need to talk. I have… I have some bad news."

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**A/N: Uh oh... I promise, answers next chapter. Well, _some_ answers next chapter... **


	16. Breaking Bones Part Two

**A/N: Sorry this is up late folks but I finally have all my broadband issues sorted out and I'm properly back online, woohooo!! That means your next delightful chapter of this tale will be up wednesday night/thursday morning. Lucky you. In the meantime, here's a pretty long one for you to mull over. I promise plenty of answers & a mysterious stranger are on their way seeing as we're almost at the final stretch now (hard to believe I know). So, as usual, the people that let me know what they think - good or bad - get my undying devotion and a basket of freshly baked cookies. Mmmm, still warm from the oven... Oh, and an enormous thank you to Ava, Miss Poisonous, LucieDucie, Laurellau, Trinigyal, Rocks&Glass, Muppet Madness and everyone else that's reviewed for all their wonderful support. You guys are my Gods and I really appreciate it soooooo much. And also, a massive thanks to you right now for reading. I just hope you like it.**

* * *

Doctor Camille Saroyan stared at the phone in her trembling hand with a growing sense of dread.

_Everything's going wrong. Nathaniel Rouse appearing in the lab, Angela being upset, Doctor Brennan disappearing, Booth… Everything's going wrong._

Replacing the handset, she took a steadying breath and silently prayed that the worst was over, especially now she had lost the one person in the world she had relied on for support.

_Booth…_

Hodgins and Zach burst through the door to Brennan's office, making Cam jump at least ten foot in the air. A hand fluttering to her chest as she tried to slow her heart back down to a normal rate, the geeky pair in front of her just shared a sheepish grin in her direction.

Zach took a brisk step forward, handing over the file he'd brought with him.

"Doctor Saroyan, we've found something on the transgender victim from the park and due to the amount of remaining tissue, I think we need your expertise to confirm our findings. Also, I think we should consult Doctor Brennan."

Cam swallowed hard as she looked the grad assistant in the eye.

"Doctor Brennan is…"

_What do I say? Everyone here looks up to Temperance like she's some kind of second coming. Just because Booth's worried about where she's got to, it doesn't automatically mean that something bad has happened to her._

_I shouldn't unduly worry them but I can't lie. What do I do? Everything's going wrong…_

She sighed and tried again.

"Doctor Brennan has gone to see Booth, so why don't you show me what you've got and we can run it past her when she gets back, whenever she gets back."

Zach led Doctor Saroyan out of the office as Hodgins watched them pass with a frown.

_He knows something's not right, which means he'll talk to Angela who'll try to reach Brennan… But what's the point in upsetting everyone if I don't even know what's happening yet?_

Not hearing Zach's frenzied commentary as they marched through the lab, Cam felt the knot in her stomach tighten.

_Just because Booth said it was Nate that took Doctor Brennan, it doesn't mean he actually did it. It doesn't mean anything's really happened to her, it doesn't even mean she's gone missing._

_Mind you, with her track record, she does have a tendency to get kidnapped…_

_Oh God, everything's going wrong…_

Blinking rapidly, Cam realised they were standing beside the body and Zach was looking at her expectantly. Snapping on the latex gloves, she turned to examine what was in front of her.

Squinting at the chest area, she began to see what all the fuss was about.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Hodgins just nodded as Cam turned more light on to the flesh, highlighting the rudimentary tattoo scrawled just above the augmented breasts. Swallowing hard, she carefully traced the letters.

"It reads… It says 'Freak'."

Zach nodded, carefully peeling back the layers of skin to reveal the damage beneath.

"Whoever did this, they managed to cut the letters all the way to the bone. They've left lasting indentations across the ribs which reveal the tool used was most likely a standard pen knife dipped in ink."

Cam shook her head in disbelief as Hodgins took a step forward.

"Did she do this to herself? I mean, she went through all that surgery and everything to make herself a woman, it had to put a lot of pressure on her."

Doctor Saroyan examined the wounds carefully, doing her best not to see the flesh and bones on the table in front of her for the person they really were. After a few moments, she straightened up and sighed heavily.

"The force and the direction of this, well 'tattoo' for lack of a better word, indicates that this was not a self-inflicted injury."

Cam just stared down at the victim in front of her as Hodgins barely disguised the disgust in his voice.

"Someone did this to her? Who the hell could carve the word 'freak' in to another human being?"

Feeling her stomach flip, Cam felt completely overwhelmed.

_Everything's gone wrong…_

_oo00oo_

Doctor Temperance Brennan was not a woman who was easily intimidated or scared. But then, it wasn't often that she had a gun pressed to her temple.

_Everything's gone wrong…_

Attempting to keep her breathing steady so she might be able to take advantage of any opportunity to get away, she nodded to herself slowly.

"Ok, ok, I'm not going to do anything so why don't you just move the gun away from my head?"

The cold metal of the gun barrel pressed harder against her temple for a second before pulling away slightly.

The deep voice behind her reverberated around the parking lot as the figure moved around to face her, the gun pointed directly between her eyes only inches away.

"Fine, Temperance, but you try any of those wildcat moves of yours and I won't hesitate to shoot you."

Swallowing hard, she just nodded as former FBI agent Nathaniel Rouse narrowed his eyes at her. They just stood there in the middle of the deserted parking lot, staring at each other, both of them wondering how they ever got to this point.

_Everything's going wrong…_

The silence making her uncomfortable, Brennan was the first to break it.

"Nate, what's going on? Why are you doing this? Why were you at the Jeffersonian earlier?"

The gun inched closer to her face but Brennan held her ground.

"I gave Angela a message, that's why I was there."

The anthropologist began to feel her blood boil at the fact he had gone after her best friend.

"You're the one who wrote that note and sent those photographs? I take it you also trashed her office."

Nate blinked rapidly, conflicting emotions that Brennan couldn't quite identify raging in his eyes.

"I never hurt her."

Despite the fact that she was basically staring down the barrel of a gun, Brennan couldn't hold her tongue.

"You called her a traitor and threatened her life, you sent her photos of her dead boyfriend! Of course you hurt her."

Nate shook his head frantically, muttering under his breath as Temperance just stared at him.

_I used to be attracted to this man. When I met him at Quantico he was so… different. I don't even know who this man is. It's not the Nathaniel Rouse I remember. Everything's going wrong here._

"I wasn't the one who hurt her, I tried to warn her. I was warning her off and I told her to keep you away as well, all of you! Obviously it didn't work. You're still sniffing around like pigs searching for truffles in the dirt. Well, there's no truffles here little lady, there's nothing but death and destruction and disappointment, so you'd better just stop right now before someone else gets hurt."

Brennan stared at him and realised why she didn't recognise the man she had met at Quantico. He wasn't the same man, nowhere near in fact. The creep pointing the gun at her was just a shadow of the great FBI agent he'd once been.

_I never saw him in action but I've seen his file and the incredible amount of commendations he received. Not to mention the fact that he was Booth's mentor. That fact alone tells me he must have been a good man to earn the respect of someone as honourable as Seeley._

Thinking of her partner, Brennan cast a quick glance around the parking structure.

_I'm in the J Edgar Hoover building, this is government property and Booth's upstairs. There must be security guards and CCTV cameras everywhere. Someone must have noticed I'm missing by now, they'll be looking._

Nate flashed her a manic grin as he noticed her gaze darting about around them.

"Oh Doctor Brennan, I've been unforgivably rude. I suppose I should have mentioned the fact that the guards aren't due to make their rounds for at least another half an hour and the CCTV cameras are in the process of an upgrade so they'll be offline for over an hour. Sorry little lady but good old Seeley ain't charging in on his great white steed to rescue you, not this time."

Trying to remain detached, Temperance hid her disappointment and growing fear behind a neutral mask she adopted day after day in the lab, burying her emotions as deep as they would go as she willed her heart to stop beating quite so fast.

Clearing her throat, she nodded.

"Nate, before you said that you weren't the one threatening Angela. What did you mean by that?"

He looked at her with an incredulous expression, like he couldn't quite believe that she didn't know what he was talking about. Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head and jabbed the gun in her direction repeatedly.

"I know what you're doing, _Doctor_ Brennan, I see your little plan. You go all clinical and detached, start analysing the situation and all that academic clap trap, just so you can find a way out of all of this. Well, I'll tell you straight, there's only one way out Temperance. You have to stop. If you don't, you're all going to pay. _All_ of you."

"I don't know what that means, Nate."

He was becoming increasingly agitated, switching his weight from foot to foot so much that he looked like he was practically skipping on the oil-stained spot in front of her.

"It's all so simple, Doctor Brennan, how can your big brainy brain not see that, huh? See, it's people like you that are the freaks, you know? With your abnormally huge intellect, you and all those little scientists that swarm around you like flies, you make everyone else feel like idiots. We spend our whole lives working hard and making money to support our families just to be walked all over by brainiacs like you…"

"I don't try to walk all over people."

"No, that's just it though isn't it? You don't _try_ to do it, you just do. People like you that think you're so much better than the rest of us, you don't realise what you do to everyone else, how you _bad_ you make them feel. You grind people down and make them feel unworthy of even existing in this stupid world."

Temperance Brennan felt completely lost and utterly alone.

_Booth is the one that's good with people, he's the one who knows how to deal with situations like this. This is one of the reasons I need him. I can't do this on my own._

Attempting to regain control of both the situation and her own emotions, she took a tentative step forwards.

"Nate, who are you talking about?"

He blinked rapidly, keeping the gun pointed straight between her eyes.

"What?"

Swallowing hard, Brennan kept her voice calm and level as much as she could.

_Just remember the things you read in those books and all that Booth's taught you. You can do this. You can connect with him, you can make him see reason._

"I know that my social skills are somewhat limited but even I can tell that what you're saying is based on something personal. The way that you're talking, it seems to be quite obvious that you're referring to someone in particular."

Nate burst out laughing, the gun shaking in his hand

"Of _course_ I'm talking about someone in particular! I thought you had a big brain, little miss PhD! I tried to talk to Angela and I'm trying to talk to you because I know what I have to do. Protect them, protect _him_, that's my job, that's what I have to do."

"But it's not your job anymore, Nate, you don't have to protect anyone because you're not an FBI agent now. So why don't you just tell me what's going on and we can go upstairs and talk to Booth and he can sort all of this out for us."

Nate's laughter left Brennan feeling hollow.

"Booth? You want me to walk upstairs to a building full of traitors and just stroll in to the office of the man I treated like a son, the man who just left me hanging out to dry? I don't think so, Temperance. I had nothing to do with what Katie was doing at Quantico, _nothing_, but none of you believed me and now what have I got to show for a lifetime of service? Huh, what have I got? Nothing, that's what, because _he_ took it from me. With a little help from you too, I know."

Nate had begun pacing up and down, the gun hanging limp by his side as he began tapping his temple while he spoke.

"That man took my life. I had everything and he had nothing. Now he has everything I had and I'm the one who's nothing. He's got the great job, he's got the badge, he's got the partner who loves him, he's got the cute little son, he's got the car. Why'd they have to take the damn car away, huh? They took my damn wheels like taking the badge and my gun wasn't bad enough… He got everything. He was nothing and now…"

Seeing how distracted he was, Brennan kept listening but started to back away slowly.

_The way he's talking about Booth, I've got to warn him. The way that he's acting implies he's had some kind of mental break and needs psychiatric evaluation, probably due to some kind of trauma, possibly even just the fact that he lost his job. But the way he's talking, it sounds like he wants to hurt Booth. I have to warn him, I have to help Booth._

_I just don't know how._

Nate was still talking.

"Seeley Booth stole my life, and now I have nothing. He took away my life so I couldn't protect him, I couldn't protect any of them, I couldn't stop them. But now I have to try, now I have to make things right. I _have_ to. I have to sort this out, I have to stop it from happening again. These freaks, these people, it can't happen again, I won't let it."

Deciding to take a risk, Brennan made a run for it, trying to get as many parked cars between her and Nate as possible to offer her some kind of safety.

The minute she started running, she heard his footsteps running behind her, the sound of them thundering around the parking lot along with the echo of his voice.

"I told you not to run, bitch! Don't try and get away from me!"

Darting behind an SUV, Brennan tried to stay as low as possible as she quickly but quietly weaved between vehicles. All the while, she tried to keep up with where Nate might be in relation to her.

Realising she couldn't hear the sound of his footsteps anymore, Brennan stopped dead. Unconsciously holding her breath, she strained her ears for the slightest hint of where he might be.

The sharp click of a gun being cocked was almost deafening. Turning slowly, Brennan's wide eyes stared straight up in to the sad eyes of a desperate man.

"I was trying to protect you, Doctor Brennan. I was trying to _save_ you. I hope one day you can forgive me."

The last thing Temperance Brennan heard was the explosion of gun fire before everything turned to black.

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**A/N: Almost forgot, friday is the deadline for your top 5 Bones moments from season one so if you've not voted, please get it to me as soon as possible. So far I've had 49 votes so thank you so much for all your help. Right now, there's a pretty clear winner but I won't reveal which just yet... Thanks again guys. See ya thursday!**


	17. A Fatal Mistake

**A/N: First off, sorry about the delay but I swear I have a good reason. Well, two actually. First one was I had to do an interview with the BBC which was ace so fingers crossed from that. And the second is that the Top 5 Bones Moments (Season 1) is now complete and you can watch the full video at youtube. Just put in the usual address then /user/lcwales and you'll get it. (Sorry, this site doesn't allow web addresses!) Thank you to every single one of you that voted, it was a very tight race. There was literally two votes between the top two places. So, if you don't like the results and didn't vote, you only have yourself to blame so there! Anyway, it's not exactly my most professional work but I hope you guys like it. Anyway, back to the story... Thanks for reading.**

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Booth stood in the middle of his office, a feeling of dread weighing heavy on his stomach as his boss's words rung in his ears. 

"Sir, bad news? What's going on? It's Bones, isn't it? Something's happened to Bones…"

Cullen blinked rapidly from the doorway.

"Do you mean Doctor Brennan?"

Booth just nodded as he marched across the office, pushing past the Deputy Director with no thought to politeness or manners. Understanding his urgency, Cullen grabbed the agent's elbow and was unsurprised when his hand was angrily shaken free, though it was immediately followed by a sheepish glance of apology.

"Booth, I know he was your mentor but…"

Seeley shook his head with a frown.

"What are you talking about? I need to find Bones, she's been missing for almost an hour."

Cullen sighed heavily, well aware the look in his eye gave away his concern for the anthropologist.

"Look, there were reports of a disturbance at a school playing field in East D.C. One of the agents was given a pretty accurate description so he pulled the CCTV footage and suffice to say, you were right. Nate really is back. And he's even more dangerous than ever."

Cullen couldn't help but see the flash of fear in his agent's eyes.

_He really does care about his partner, any fool can see that. I just wish the pair of them would stop being fools themselves and admit what's really going on before it's too late._

"Go get her, Booth."

Seeley was not a man who needed telling twice.

_oo00oo_

Nathaniel Rouse couldn't quite believe it when Brennan made a run for it, even though he was the only one with a weapon.

_That woman's got guts… Some might say it'll get her killed…_

Frustrated at her lack of understanding for his intentions, he couldn't help but yell at her.

"I told you not to run, bitch! Don't try and get away from me!"

Clenching a fist by his side, he chastised himself as he took off after her.

_That was rude, Nathaniel. You shouldn't call her a bitch. Even if she did basically ruin your life along with that idiot, Booth, she's still a lady…_

Sprinting through the parking lot, he ducked and weaved between the cars, always trying to keep a bead on the bobbing head in front of him. Realising he'd lost her somewhere in the maze of SUVs and government number plates, he froze and closed his eyes.

Standing stock still, his ears strained for the slightest indication of where she might have gone. He quickly got it.

There was a slight shuffling and the scraping of a heeled shoe across the concrete floor. With a wry smile, he rounded the car beside him and aimed his gun right at the anthropologist's back.

_I could shoot her right now. I could end all of this madness right here and now… No, that wouldn't be right. Shooting her in the back would be like calling her a coward. Temperance Brennan is many things as far as I'm concerned, none of them particularly good, but nor are any of them coward._

Knowing how well sound would carry in the confines of the parking structure, he knew the perfect way to get her attention.

_I'm such a drama queen…_

He cocked the gun as he pointed it at her, smiling as she visibly tensed up and turned to face him. The smile quickly faded as he caught her eye.

_Explain yourself, Nate. Explain why you're doing all this. She deserves to know why you have to do this._

He blinked rapidly, the force of the emotions surging through him causing the gun to shake in front of him as he spoke.

"I was trying to protect you, Doctor Brennan. I was trying to _save _you. I hope one day you can forgive me."

Shaking her head frantically, she tried to scuttle backwards but the parked car behind her blocked her way.

Nate took a step back as he trained the gun on the anthropologist.

_She brought this on herself. She shouldn't have run, I told her not to run…_

As she screwed her eyes closed and turned her head away, the whisper escaping from her lips was barely audible to his ears.

"Booth…"

But it was too late.

_oo00oo_

Booth was speeding through the corridors, the blood pumping through his veins as he raced toward the parking structure.

_I've got to find her. She's in trouble, I just know it. She wouldn't just disappear._

Darting past the agents milling around the building and giving him curious looks as he flew by, Booth jumped in to the lift. The supposedly cheery elevator music immediately grated on his nerves, his foot tapping impatiently as he waited for the doors to reopen in the underground parking structure.

_This is taking too long… But where do I even start? Where the hell would she be?_

Digging the keys out of his jacket pocket, he squeezed through the doors the second they started to open, his feet pounding across the concrete and echoing around him. Seeing the mass of black SUVs in front of him, he skidded to a stop.

_Shit, where did I park? These damn cars all look the same…_

In the silence of that moment, he heard the familiar voice booming off the concrete columns.

"I told you not to run, bitch! Don't try and get away from me!"

_Nate…_

Trying to identify where the echoing footfalls were coming from, Booth pulled his gun from the holster and stalked through the parking structure. Hunkering down to stay low behind the cars, he followed the sound of feet and shuffling.

Movement in the corner of his eye caused Booth to spin around and duck behind the SUV. Keeping as low as he could, he manoeuvred round the vehicle, keeping his gun trained on his former mentor.

_But where's Bones?_

Nate raised his gun, pointing it down between two cars that blocked Booth's line of sight.

_That must be where she is… Oh God, he's gonna shoot her. He's gonna kill her._

Silently approaching, he kept his gun trained on Nate as he attempted to get a better look between the parked cars and see if his partner was okay.

_Oh God, I would do anything for her to be alright. I swear to you, please, just protect her, keep her safe…_

The unmistakable sound of the gun being cocked caused Booth to freeze, his fear for Brennan's safety causing him to be cautious in his approach. Swallowing hard, he listened to Nate yell at her as he edged forward, practically on tip-toe.

"I was trying to protect you, Doctor Brennan. I was trying to _save _you. I hope one day you can forgive me."

He heard his partner gasp and that was all the impetus he needed.

About to pounce, he was shocked to realise the man's real plan. As he raised the gun to his own temple, Booth found himself frozen to the spot.

_Would it really be so bad if he took his own life? Surely that would just protect Bones. One less maniac on the streets trying to take her down. I have to protect her. I have to keep her safe, even if she doesn't want me to half the time._

The gun pressed firmly against his head, Nathaniel Rouse closed his eyes and turned his face skyward, a tight smile spreading across his thin lips.

_I took an oath to protect everyone and as much as I hate to admit it, that includes Nate. _

Charging forward, he barrelled in to Rouse, knocking him hard to the floor. But it was too late, Nate had fired. Rolling off of his mentor and climbing to his knees, Booth was glad to see the gun far beyond the man's grasp and not a scratch on him.

Relieved, he turned to face Brennan, his smile wide. But then his eyes fell on his partner's body, her agile limbs twisted unnaturally as the floor turned to red.

_Oh God…_

Shuffling forwards, he stared down at her with his eyes wide.

_I did this, I made him shoot her. He was only going to take himself out but now… Oh God, what have I done?_

His voice harsh in his throat, he uttered her name.

"Temperance…?"

He wasn't expecting the blow that Nate delivered, knocking Booth back against the side of the car to his left. Momentarily dazed, he could only watch as the former agent scrambled across the floor to retrieve his gun. Clambering to his feet, he stared down at the anthropologist as he raised his gun slowly.

Shaking the cobwebs away, Booth grabbed at the side of the car, using the door handle and wing mirror to pull himself to his feet. Following Nate's gaze, he felt his heart break at the sight in front of him.

_Temperance…_

His eyes flicking back to the man he used to respect and hold in the highest regard, Booth now only saw a shell of a man. A man that had just shot the only woman in the world Booth could imagine spending the rest of his life with. Without her, it all just seemed so pointless.

_But really I did it, it's my fault she's lying there now. Oh God, what have I done? What have I done?_

Nate seemed to be having the same thought. His gaze still fixed on Brennan's ragged attempts to breathe, he raised the gun to his own temple as his eyes filled with tears.

"I tried to save them, I tried to make things right. I failed, I failed, I couldn't do it. I'm nothing. I'm sorry Temperance, I really am, but it was the only way. I had to stop you. I had to protect them. I'm so sorry."

His finger tightening on the trigger, Booth rushed toward him, determined that he wasn't going to let Nate take the easy way out. But as he crossed the few feet between them, Rouse spun around with eyes wide from fear. As the seconds seemed to slow, Booth found himself unable to stop charging forward. It took him too long to notice the gun was no longer pointed at Nate's temple, it was pointed at him.

As he stared down the barrel of the gun, all Booth could do was keep going, well aware that one way or another, he was about to be with his Bones.

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**A/N: I feel I should apologise for the lack of answers in this chapter... Trust me, you'll get a flood of them beginning with the next one, which should be up sunday evening (fingers crossed, I don't seem to be all that punctual with this stuff at the moment!) so I hope you can bear with me a little while longer. Poor little Booth... And Brennan for that matter. Hard to believe I actually like these characters considering what I put them through... Thanks again for reading!**


	18. Aftermath

**A/N: Check it out, I'm updating _earlier_ than I said I would. Oh yeah baby, I'm actually being punctual for once! Worship at my feet, little children, I kick ass!! Ok, maybe took that one a little far... In case any of you have forgotten, Nate just attacked Brennan and was about to shoot himself when Booth jumped in, the gun went off & Brennan went down. Which would be a big opps... Now on with the story (be warned, it's a long one...). Thanks for reading!**

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Even when he realised that the gun was pointing right at him, Booth couldn't stop running towards it. He wouldn't have even if he was able to. His partner was lying on the ground, bleeding her last, and it was all Nate's fault.

_No it's not Booth, it's yours. If you hadn't pushed him…_

Ignoring the voice in the back of his mind, he swung an arm up as he charged forward, knocking the gun out of Nate's hand before he could do any more damage. Swinging his other arm around, he used his elbow to deal a swift blow to his former mentor's face as the momentum of his charge kept them both going.

His rage at boiling point, Booth grabbed Nate by the throat and slammed him on to the hood of the car behind him.

His grip tightening to the point his knuckles were turning white, Booth kept on squeezing.

_This is all Nate's fault, all of it. First he hooks up with Katie in Quantico to kill anyone they please, then he turns up at the lab to terrorise Angela and now he's shot Bones. He deserves everything he gets, the son of a bitch._

Gasping for air, Nate clawed at Booth's hand but he was too weak to do any real damage. His eyes wide and increasingly bloodshot, he stared up at his protégé with such intense fear that it scared even Booth.

It scared him because he saw himself in Nate's eyes, he saw the man he was on the verge of becoming.

_I'm not a killer, not like that. In the Army, I was doing my job, I was protecting people. Hundreds of people lived because I took out a select few. It was war. This is… This is just revenge. This is wrong. He's the killer, not me._

He loosened his grip but as Nate gasped for air like a fish out of water, Booth still held him down.

_But you're the one who got your partner shot, Booth. You're the one who really hurt her._

Swallowing hard, he reached around behind him, grabbing the handcuffs from his belt. Snapping them over Nate's shaking wrists, Booth finally released his grip on the former agent's neck.

"You make one move and I swear to God I'll kill you."

Nate just nodded, his raspy breath echoing round the parking lot as Booth retrieved both their guns and deftly pocketed them.

Somewhere in the distance he could hear shouting and the pounding of feet but he barely even noticed. In front of him, he was facing his worst nightmare, the image that had woken him in a cold sweat on more nights than he could count.

_Oh God, I'm losing her…_

Falling to his knees, he clutched his partner's hand for dear life, gently stroking her hair out of her face and away from the angry red bump to the side of her head.

"Temperance?"

She was barely breathing, her chest rising and falling hardly at all. The fear in Booth's gut threatened to take control as he stared down at her, the woman he loved more than anything in the world. The woman he had always loved, even before he knew her.

Carefully applying pressure to the wound in her abdomen with one hand, he still kept a firm grip on her with the other, letting his fingers intertwine with hers even though they were both now slick with blood.

The tears welling up, he was vaguely aware of someone nearby yelling for an ambulance and the chatter of frightened voices. He couldn't hear what they were saying, he didn't care.

"Temperance, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can, ok? Come on, squeeze my hand…"

He stared down at their interlocking fingers, waiting for a sign he feared would never come. Swallowing back the tears, he tried to keep his voice steady for her sake. In case she could hear him, he didn't want to scare her.

"Temperance, please, come back…"

Still, he got no response. He felt a hand on his shoulder but he jerked himself free of it.

_Whatever they want, they can wait. I can't leave her, not like this._

Desperation began to overtake his fear.

"Bones?"

His voice cracked with the emotions that raged within him, the fear, the anger, the guilt, all ready to burst.

"Bones, come back to me…"

His voice was barely above a whisper as he felt the hand on his shoulder again, pulling him away. But nothing in the world could take him from that spot, nothing but her.

Leaning over his partner, he prayed to the God he was well aware she didn't believe in, prayed that He would save her, that He would protect her where he himself could not.

_Protect her? That's a joke. I'm the reason she's lying here now. I might as well have pulled the trigger myself._

Biting back the tears, he squeezed her hand tight.

"Please? Oh God, please don't do this! Brennan, come on! You've gotta come back. What am I gonna tell Angela, huh? And Zach? What am I going to do?"

He didn't care who was watching or listening around him, just as long as _she_ could hear him. It had taken him over two years to say the things he really needed to say and now he was about to, he was ashamed of nothing.

"What will I do if you leave me, huh? What the hell would I do? You can't do this to me, not now, not ever! We're partners, Temperance, we're not supposed to do things without each other. You can't leave me… Please… You just can't…"

His breath hitched in his chest as he realised just how much he needed her to stay, how much she really meant to him.

"Bones, you're everything to me. Everything. Without you… God, I can't even imagine being without you. So don't do this to me. You've always been a fighter, don't quit on me now. Who else is going to tell me when I'm being an alpha male, or make fun of my socks, or follow me around begging for a gun, or listen to my jokes and pretend like they're funny? Who's going to be there when I really need someone to talk to, someone who'll just listen and won't judge me? Someone who understands me, who understands what I want and what I need. I want you Temperance, I _need_ you. I always have. Because… Because I love you."

He didn't notice the tears rolling down his cheeks, he couldn't feel the eyes on him from the concerned FBI agents all around, he couldn't feel their sympathy. None of that mattered. Not to him, not then.

"You're my _Bones_, I need you. Please, just open your eyes. Wake up and call me a typically overprotective alpha male with anger issues or whatever the hell you want, just wake up. Ok, Bones? Just do that for me, please. Ok? Open your eyes now, open your eyes…"

This time, Booth didn't shrug off the hand on his shoulder. He didn't know how to. He was numb to everything but the cold hand grasped within his own.

_I've lost her…_

As Cullen crouched down beside him, his hand gently squeezing his agent's shoulder, Booth couldn't bring himself to look away from his partner.

"Seeley, I'm so sorry."

Sirens echoed through the parking structure as the ambulance finally arrived. Booth just clutched on to her hand, refusing to let her go.

"No, she can't… She wouldn't give up, not her, not Brennan."

He felt the strength of Cullen's gaze weighing heavy on him so turned to meet his eyes. What he found there wasn't just sympathy or remorse, it was understanding.

_He's lost the girl he loved too. His daughter. Her pain was done to her, it was a crime, just like this… He understands._

Booth opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. There was nothing he could possibly say in that moment, nothing to describe the emptiness he felt. Cullen just nodded slowly, gently patting his shoulder.

"You've just got to let her go, Booth. I'm sorry but you've got to."

He shook his head, clutching her hand all the tighter as he kissed her forehead gently. Behind him, Cullen's solemn voice carried with it the weight of the world.

"I'm sorry Booth but it's too late. She's gone."

_oo00oo_

Temperance Brennan felt warm, strangely warm.

It was almost as if she was being smothered in an enormous duvet while still drifting somewhere between being asleep and awake.

_Asleep… Am I asleep right now?_

She couldn't resist the smile pulling at her lips as she began to realise just how calm she felt. She was completely at peace with herself, with the world, with everything.

She was happy.

_I must be asleep…_

Slowly, Brennan managed to tear her eyes open and stare up in to the bluest sky she had ever seen, its only blemish the faint wisp of a cloud sailing past above her head.

_How did I get here? _

_Hang on, where exactly is **here** anyway…?_

She sat up quickly, feeling the coolness of the grass underneath her and turning her head to see how far the green spread around her. She winced at the sudden movement, a hand gingerly feeling the slight lump on the side of her head. It was sore and incredibly tender, sending a searing pain through her entire body as the pads of her fingers brushed against it.

With the pain came a flash, an image, a sense of unease. For the briefest of moments, she saw a dank and dreary concrete structure in front of her as clear as day, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

_I'm not supposed to be here…_

The warmth of the afternoon sun hanging heavy in the sky melted away the queasiness which the image brought with it, the beauty of the world around her all but silencing the nagging little voice in the back of her mind.

_This isn't right. I'm not supposed to be here._

Slowly, she clambered to her feet, taking in deep breaths of the fresh country air. Stretching out her languid limbs, she winced at the sudden pain in her abdomen. Her hands instinctively flying to the affected area, she looked down to examine what was wrong. As the throb in her stomach reached an aching crescendo, Brennan got another flash.

She was still staring down at her stomach but now it was a deep red, the vibrant colour providing a stark contrast to the solemn greys around her. Someone was standing over, someone who sent a shiver down her spine.

Blinking rapidly, the image faded away again, leaving the anthropologist finding herself standing amidst the most incredible natural beauty she had ever seen. A slow smile spreading across her lips, she turned her face to the sun, letting its warmth wash over her and sweep away the vestiges of fear left from the strange image in her mind.

_This is all just too perfect. I'm not supposed to be here._

Somewhere not too far away, a voice was calling to her. Spinning around, she stared into a forest of green hues, the branches swaying in the gentle breeze. She took a tentative step forward, one hand still covering the sore area in her abdomen.

"Hello?"

_This is wrong, this is all wrong…_

Another flash came, this time of two blurry figures colliding and fighting in front of her. She couldn't make out who they were before the image faded but they seemed incredibly familiar.

Closing her eyes, she sighed heavily as she tried to drive the fuzzy pictures from her head.

_What the hell is going on?_

Again, she heard someone calling her name. Swallowing hard, she took another step towards the trees.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

Still the voice called to her, though she couldn't make out what it was saying. Stepping forward, a growing sense of unease surged through her veins. It was almost as if with every step she took closer to the forest, the darker and more foreboding it became.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

There was something familiar in that voice, its warm tones soothing her jagged emotions.

"Temperance, please, come back…"

_This isn't right… That voice…_

"Come back where? Where am I supposed to be?"

She was almost at the edge of the forest now, its long shadow sending a chill through her every muscle.

"Bones… Bones? Please, come back to me…"

Brennan froze on the spot.

_Booth… Booth's calling for me…_

She looked back over her shoulder at the beauty behind her, the sun warming everything it touched. Turning back to face the ominous forest looming over her, she felt cold and clammy, the throb in her stomach getting worse and worse the closer she got.

_But Booth's in there, I can hear him. He needs me. I'm his partner. That's what I do. That's why I can't stay here._

Swallowing back the fear and apprehension, Brennan held her head high and jutted out her jaw in a gesture of defiance as she marched in to the threatening forest.

_Where ever Booth is, that's where I need to be…_

_That's where I'll always be._

_oo00oo_

"I'm sorry Booth but it's too late. She's gone."

Cullen's words echoed in Booth's ears as he stared down at his partner.

_She's always complained when I've tried to protect her, always said that she was perfectly fine on her own. I guess she was right. All this time I've been trying to be the big hero and protect her from all the crazies when the very person I should have been protecting her from was right here. I should have protected her from me._

_I did this. This is my fault. I killed her._

With a shaking hand, he carefully brushed away the loose tendrils of her hair, desperate to hang on to her for even just a second longer. Clutching her hand to his breast, he kissed her fingers and closed his eyes as his silent sobs rocked him to and fro.

"Booth…"

With his eyes still closed, he froze. It seemed like even his heart had stopped beating. Slowly, he raised his head, furiously blinking back tears as he found himself staring in to the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen.

"Bones?"

_Oh my God, she's alive, she's ok!_

She smiled, though it obviously took her a lot of effort.

"I heard you."

The grin spreading from ear to ear, Booth squeezed her hand as he leaned forward to hear her better.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You were telling me to come back, right?"

He couldn't shake the grin off.

_I don't think I've ever been as happy as I am right now._

"Yeah, I sure was."

Her smile widened and despite the pain she was obviously in, she raised her arm to cup his face in her hand.

"You didn't really think I was going to just leave, did you? You can't get rid of me that easily, Booth. We're partners. You're stuck with me…"

Laughing heartily, he took both her hands in his own and he kissed her on the forehead, on the cheek, on the tip of her nose. His face hovering barely inches above hers, he flashed her his biggest charm smile.

"Well Bones, that's just the way I like it."

Without a second thought, he kissed her full on the lips. Feeling her tense up beneath him, he backed away, just like he always did, just like how he always hid how he really felt.

But seeing her delicate features scrunched up in pain, none of that mattered.

"Bones, what is it?"

Her eyes screwed shut, she let out a long breath through gritted teeth. Slowly, she opened her eyes but only to glare up at him.

"You do remember I've been shot, right?"

With a sheepish grin, he shuffled back, waving over the paramedics as they weaved through the parked cars.

"Yeah, well, it's not like you're ever gonna let me forget it, are you?"

Despite the pain, she grinned at him, their hands still clutching on to each other for dear life.

"Well, I think this proves just how much I need a gun in my line of work…"

Somewhere behind them, Booth heard Cullen snort with laughter.

"She never quits, does she?"

Booth didn't take his eyes off her, swearing to himself he never would again.

"No, she never does."

_Thank God…_

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**A/N: I know it was a long one kids so thanks for bearing with me. I was going to split it in two but then it would have ended the chapter after Booth basically says goodbye and I didn't really fancy being killed by you lot... Oh, and apparantly the link wasn't working to the Top 5 videos so if you go to my profile page, it's on there. Thanks to everyone for voting, and for reading this. You're all ace.**


	19. Make Things Right

**A/N: Come on, you guys didn't really think I was gonna leave it there, did you? There's still so many questions to answer! Like will Brennan be ok? Who were the pair in the park? What really happened in Angela's office? Who sent Ange the threatening notes? Will Hodgins realise that Angela does love him? Will Brennan realise that Booth loves her? And, most importantly, when will this damn story end??? Just so you know, this chapter is to provide the explanation for the next one, if you get my drift. Oh, and this is happening pre-Epps escape so Gordon, Gordon Wyatt hasn't met Booth yet. Just so that makes sense. Anyway, enough from me. Thanks for reading!**

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Deputy Director Cullen was getting impatient. 

"Mr Rouse, why did you attack Doctor Brennan?"

It was the eighth time he had asked the question and, once again, the only response he got from the former agent was a shrug and some incoherent mumbles.

Frustrated, he got to his feet and slammed his hands down on to the table, leaning across it to tower over the pitiful excuse of a man in front of him.

"Nathaniel Rouse, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Doctor Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth, not to mention trespassing on government property, burglary at Miss Montenegro's office and suspicion of causing a disturbance at East Falls High School last week."

To the bulk of the charges, Nate just carried on staring in to space with a glazed look over his eyes, but the second Cullen mentioned the school, the former agent tensed up. Frowning, the Deputy Director leaned in closer.

"Rouse, what happened at that school?"

The man blinked rapidly, one hand tapping the desk incessantly as he shook his head.

"They shouldn't have done it, they didn't leave me any choice. I told them not to but still they came, hounding me and lying, so full of lies and deceit and puppy dog tails…"

Cullen glanced at the one-way mirror behind him, wondering just what the resident psychologist was making of all this.

"They? Who's they? Are you talking about Agent Booth and Doctor Brennan?"

Rouse blinked at the voice, having seemingly forgotten that Cullen was even there.

"Booth was my protégé… I taught him everything I knew, I made him stronger, got him to get help. Gambling is a sin, it's dirty. And in return, he took my life. He took away my one chance of happiness, the one thing I wanted."

"What did he take?"

Rouse opened his mouth to answer then immediately snapped it shut again, wagging a finger in the agent's direction as he grinned.

"Uh uh, no, you don't get to do that. Booth's the one that took everything, Booth's the one I'll talk to. The only one."

Cullen narrowed his eyes at Nate, shaking his head.

"Mr Rouse, when you refused to have a lawyer present I assumed that was because you wanted to talk to _me_ and tell _me_ what happened in the parking lot, not to talk to the agent you nearly got killed."

Nate's eyes widened.

"I didn't try to kill Seeley. I didn't even try to kill Temperance. Sometimes, that's just the way things end up… Round and round in circles, twirling and dancing, till we all fall down…"

"So you tried to kill yourself?"

"I had no choice. I failed. I tried to protect them, I tried to make things right, I tried I tried I tried…"

He tailed off, looking straight up in to the agent's eyes, his voice suddenly clear and concise.

"You're not the one I want to talk to, you don't understand. Get me Agent Booth or I'm not saying another word."

Exasperated, Cullen stood up straight and folded his arms across his chest.

"If you don't explain what happened, then you don't stand a chance of ever being a free man again."

"Well, you'd better get me Agent Booth then, hadn't you?"

Turning his eyes away, Nate started humming to himself, his fingers dancing across the table to his own amusement.

Knowing he didn't have a chance of getting anything more out of him, Cullen marched out of the door and straight in to the observation room.

Running a hand across his face, he leant against the glass and stared in to the interview room, casting a frustrated look in the psychologist's direction.

"So, Doctor Wyatt, what do you think?"

The tall Englishman shook his head.

"I think that Mr Rouse has very definite reasons for the things he's done, even if they only make sense to him, and that he truly has one of the best cases for the insanity defence I have ever seen."

"So what do we do?"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to get this Agent Booth in there if you have any hope of finding out what's really going on. Mr Rouse clearly has some issues regarding his former protégé but it's these very issues that seem to motivate him to talk."

"But Agent Booth nearly strangled him, which isn't particularly surprising seeing as what Rouse did to his partner."

"Ah yes, the infamous Doctor Brennan. How is she doing?"

"She's in surgery but the docs say she'll likely pull through."

"Well, that's some good news then isn't it?"

"The best I've had all day."

The FBI psychologist turned, his attention no longer on the man in the interview room but on the agent stood beside him.

"You're quite concerned with this Agent Booth, aren't you?"

Cullen sighed heavily, keeping his eyes trained on Rouse.

"He's probably the best agent I've ever seen but he keeps putting himself in positions that just ask for trouble."

"Like this you mean?"

"No, not this. I mean, who could ever expect an agent as well respected as Nathaniel Rouse to go so completely mental? This isn't Booth's fault."

"But according to the statement he gave your fellow agents, he thinks it is."

"I'm well aware of that, Doctor Wyatt, but what you have to understand is that Agent Booth and Doctor Brennan… They have an incredibly close relationship and he feels very much responsible for her. If she got a splinter from a plank of wood, he'd think it was his fault."

"So, you don't put much stock in his account of the events that led to Doctor Brennan getting shot?"

Cullen thought it through slowly, staring in to the interview room but seeing nothing.

"He loves that woman more than anything else in the world. If he did rush at Nate when the gun went off then whether it really was his fault or not, he's going to blame himself for it. I doubt he'll ever forgive himself."

Doctor Wyatt nodded sagely.

"Love is the most powerful and destructive force known to man, Agent Cullen, but then I think you already knew that. How are you and your wife coping since the funeral?"

The Deputy Director tensed up, the sudden mixture of his homelife in to his place of work confusing and disorientating him.

_I can't deal with this here. If I don't keep those two parts of my life separate, I'll never cope with it all. I just can't deal with this now._

"This isn't one of our sessions, Gordon. Please, let's just… I need you to keep observing Rouse and keep everything else away from work. I can't do this whole therapy nonsense right now, there's too much to deal with."

"Of course. I apologise."

"It's fine, Doctor Wyatt. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and find Agent Booth."

Leaving the observation room, Cullen pulled the door closed behind him and leant against it. Closing his eyes, he couldn't help but think of his daughter. The sight of her when she was first born, when she lost her first tooth, the first time she rode a bike, the first time she had to go through chemo…

_I watched my beautiful little girl fade away, I had to watch her die. How could I ever blame Seeley for attacking Nate after he saw the woman he loved in so much pain? If I was him, I wouldn't have been able to hold back. If I was him, Nate would be long dead._

The sound of approaching footsteps caught Cullen's attention and he opened his eyes to find a fresh faced young agent beside him.

"What is it, Agent Marsden?"

"Sir, you have a visitor waiting in your office. Miss Montenegro's brought someone from the Jeffersonian that I think you need to talk to. She wouldn't tell me what it's about, she says she'll only talk to Agent Booth."

Cullen frowned.

"Agent Booth?"

Marsden seemed to squirm a little under his boss's gaze.

"Yes sir. I… I don't think she knows what's happened with Booth and that weird bone lady yet. Should I speak to her?"

Cullen sighed heavily.

_Angela was a tower of strength for my little girl towards the end. The least I can do is tell her what's going on with her best friend._

"No, Marsden, I'll do it."

He turned to leave before spinning round again to jab a finger in the young agent's face.

"And in the future, Agent Marsden, I'd appreciate it if you refer to her as Doctor Brennan, not _that weird bone lady_. She's put her life on the line more times than I can count to help people and as infuriating as she can be at times, Doctor Brennan deserves your respect."

Marching off to face Angela, Cullen was well aware of the agent standing speechless in his wake. He just didn't care.

_oo00oo_

Agent Booth was pacing. There wasn't much else he could do.

Up and down the hospital corridor, up and down, never stopping, never pausing, up, down, up, down…

_Why do bad things always happen to good people? I know you've got a plan up there, big guy, but would you please mind giving people like Temperance Brennan a break? Haven't you put her through enough? _

_She doesn't deserve this, she just doesn't deserve any of this._

He was well aware of the looks he was getting from the medical staff but he really didn't care. He didn't give a damn about anything but his partner.

_That's my Bones on an operating table, fighting for her life. How could anything else possibly matter compared to that? _

He didn't know what to do. Just waiting around for news on the surgery seemed completely pointless but there wasn't anything else he could do, nowhere else he could go. He needed to be there when she woke up. No matter what was happening, she was going to wake up. She had to.

_But what if she doesn't? What if I lose her? I'm the reason that she's lying there. I'm the one that pushed Nate, I'm the reason she got shot. How can I ever make this right? _

The sound of someone calling his name pulled Booth back out of his daze. He turned, finding himself face to face with his ex.

"Cam?"

She mustered up a supportive smile but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I got here as fast as I could. Is she alright?"

Booth couldn't stop himself from snapping.

"She got shot, Camille, of course she's not alright!"

For the briefest of moments, she looked like she was about to cry but forced a tight smile of understanding on to her face.

Booth sighed heavily, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, Cam, it's just… This is all my fault. If I lose her…"

Cam laid a comforting hand on his arm.

"You're not going to lose her, ok? This is Brennan we're talking about. I mean how many times has she been kidnapped or beaten, huh? And she always comes out the other side stronger than ever. This time's not going to be any different, not if she's got you to support her."

Booth nodded slowly, staring at the doors that led to the operating theatre as he prayed for good news. He felt Cam squeeze his arm slightly and Booth realised that he didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward around her.

_She's being a friend. I can't ask for more than that._

"Stop blaming yourself, Booth. It's not your fault, none of this is. Nate's the one that shot her."

"But it _is_ my fault. I caused it. The only reason he shot her was because I ran at him, I knocked him down. He was going to shoot himself, he wasn't even aiming at her, but then I knocked his arm. I was the one who made this happen to her."

He felt his vision blur as his eyes began to swim with tears and he couldn't look at her, he couldn't look at the woman who cared enough to step back to give him a chance at happiness just for him to waste it.

"Seeley…"

He jerked his arm away from her, his tears falling freely.

"No, Cam, no! It's too late because of me, I did this, I shot her. Oh God…"

She took his arm, pulling him towards her, letting him sob out all of his anger and fear, though she knew the guilt would last a lifetime.

Finally, he pulled away, ashamedly brushing the dampness from his cheeks. Cam rubbed his arm, forcing him to look at her.

"She's going to pull through this. I know she will."

Booth rolled his eyes, trying to be sarcastic but just sounding desperate.

"How do you know that?"

"Because you and Brennan were meant to be together, and the whole world knows it. Maybe this was just what you two needed to kick your asses in to gear, Seeley."

"I don't really think this is the time to be talking romance, Camille."

It was Cam's turn to roll her eyes.

"Would you please stop calling me Camille?!"

"Only when you quit calling me Seeley…"

The two of them smiled at each other and Booth felt his nerves begin to settle. He was still worried about Brennan but right then, it was like he could see how it was all going to play out.

_She's going to wake up, she's going to be fine. We'll get through this together, we'll make it work. Bones and me, we'll make things right._

He stared at the doors to the operating theatre, nodding to himself.

_We'll make things right._

_We have to._

* * *

**A/N: And if you're thinking reading that was a waste of time, I kinda have to agree with you... I've got severe writer's block at the moment so it's all going a bit pear shaped. So, sorry about that. I hope to make it much better with the next chapter, I promise, which'll be up either friday or saturday. Though seeing as there's no Bones tonight (or for the next bloody month cos Fox are assholes...), it might be up earlier as there's less distractions. Oh, and yay for Bones being commissioned for a third series. Fox finally did something right. I mean, seriously, is it so hard to have more than two episodes in a bloody row, for God's sake??! Now, I'm off to kill the guy who schedules the show for screwing us around so much. Who's with me?**


	20. Wakey Wakey

**A/N: Wow, I don't believe it. My computer's actually letting me upload stuff again. Hoorrah! Anyway, sorry for the delay in getting this to you folks but it's all my computer's fault. I pushed through the writer's block but it's still hampering progress so expect your next update by thurs night/ fri morning. Just don't expect it to be good. If I get really frustrated with writing, I might make a new Bones video. Yeah, I really need to get out more...**

* * *

Sitting in a back-breakingly uncomfortable chair, Booth just stared down at his partner and couldn't help but think that he was spending far too much time in hospitals.

Whether it was him or the people that he cared about, far too many people were getting hurt. And right now, staring down at his morphine-soaked partner, he was the one who was hurting.

_She's always tried so hard to be supportive and a good friend, she's always been there for me even if she didn't really know what to say. And this is how I repay her…_

He reached out to her, careful not to catch himself on the drip attached to the back of her hand. His eyes followed the criss-crossing lattice of tubes across the bed area, feeling himself turn as pale as the frail woman in front of him.

_Bones is probably the strongest person I've ever known, both mentally and physically, so to see her like this…_

He swallowed hard, watching every rise and fall of her chest and every bleep of the heart monitors, silently willing her to keep on fighting.

_She always tries to hide her vulnerability. But more and more, she's let me in and allowed me to see her heart. But now she's lying here vulnerable and broken and I'm the one that put her here. She trusted me and I let her down._

_How can I ever put this right? How could I ever make it up to her?_

He leaned closer to her, his ears straining for the gentle sound of her breathing to reassure himself that at least for the moment, she wasn't going anywhere. And right then and there he swore to himself that for the rest of their lives, neither was he.

_oo00oo_

Deputy Director Cullen didn't often get nervous but standing in front of the door to his own office, he could feel his palms getting clammy by his sides.

Taking a deep breath, he strolled inside to be greeted by Angela Montenegro pacing up and down in front of his desk and casting worried glances in the direction of a bruised and beaten blonde.

"Miss Montenegro, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Her smile was broad and genuine as she shook his hand, despite the worry in her eyes.

_She knows what my family's been through. She saw what happened to my little girl. If it wasn't for Angela, I'm not sure she'd have been able to be as brave as she was by the end._

"Oh, it's no problem, I understand how busy you must be around here. But the thing is, I don't mean to be disrespectful in anyway, but I really need to talk to Booth. The other agents told us to wait in here and I can't reach him or Brennan."

Cullen nodded solemnly, attempting to find the words as Angela's face dropped.

"Oh God, no. Something's happened, hasn't it? Booth and Bren, are they ok? God, just tell me they're ok…"

"Angela, I'm so sorry but Nathaniel Rouse somehow managed to get in to the parking lot and, despite Agent Booth's best efforts, I'm afraid Doctor Brennan was shot. Now don't worry, the doctor's say she's going to be fine, and we have Rouse under arrest. Booth's at the hospital with her now, just waiting for her to wake up. She's still under anaesthetic from the surgery but I swear to you, she'll be the same old Doctor Brennan in a couple of days."

Her eyes wide with fear, Angela looked distinctly unconvinced. With a wry smile, Cullen stepped forward and gently patted her arm.

"Really, she's fine. She's already been using this whole thing as grounds for me to give her a gun…"

The artist let out a strangled giggle, the relief obvious as she leant against the desk with one hand over her heart. Shaking her head, she sighed.

"And it was definitely Nate that went after Bren? He shot her?"

Cullen nodded, noticing how tense the blonde girl had become out of the corner of his eye. Turning his attention back to Angela, he watched as she buried her face in her hands, her voice muffled through her fingers.

"Oh my God, this is all my fault… I could have stopped this. I _should_ have stopped this. I got my best friend shot…"

Frowning, Cullen glanced at the mute blonde, tears slowly rolling down her swollen cheeks.

"Angela, none of this is your fault. There's no way you could have known what was going to happen. The guy broke in to the Jeffersonian, left you a few disturbing and cryptic notes and then trashed your office. You're the victim here, Angela, you couldn't have known what Rouse was planning."

Her head snapped up, her eyes ablaze with anger not at Cullen, but with herself.

"But I did know! He told me, he told her! We could have stopped this…"

She jabbed a finger in the young woman's direction before turning away, desperately trying to force back the tears. An eyebrow raised, Cullen switched his attention to the blonde.

"Hey, what's your name?"

She sniffed loudly, dragging the back of her hand across her face to wipe away the tears and only succeeding in smearing her make-up, revealing the angry purple bruises beneath.

"I'm Portia, Portia DeLancey."

Her voice was barely above a whisper so Cullen crouched down beside her, trying to get close enough to hear and offer support without crowding her.

"Well, Portia, how do you know Angela here?"

She blinked rapidly, keeping her eyes trained on her hands wringing in her lap.

"She did an art class thing at my school. I remember her being real nice to us. And she dresses cool, so you know, I liked her."

"And which school is it that you go to, Portia?"

She swallowed hard.

"East Falls High School."

She raised her eyes to him, a brief smile lighting up her face.

"I just got voted Fall Queen."

She quickly flicked her eyes away again, refusing to look up from her hands.

"Well, congratulations. That's quite an achievement."

_Except I have no idea what it is…_

Getting to his feet, Cullen glanced at Angela as the pieces slowly began to fall in to place.

_East Falls High School… That's where… _

Staring down at the girl, he offered up a supportive smile.

"So, was it at school that you met Nathaniel Rouse?"

She froze, her shoulders tensing up before she nodded quickly. Leaning against the desk beside Angela, he cast her an inquisitive look. She just nodded in the girl's direction, telling him to keep going.

_I've got a really bad feeling about this one…_

"Ok, so did you speak to him?"

She raised her head a little, though she was still unable to look the FBI agent in the eye.

"Not really. He spoke to me though. Well, he yelled at me. He's real scary. Now I know where Den got it from."

"Den?"

She gave him an incredulous look, like she couldn't believe that he didn't know who she was talking about.

"Yeah, Denver Harris? East Falls' star quarterback. He was about to get in to any college he wanted on a football scholarship, he had his pick. That was before, you know, before he went… _missing_."

Cullen frowned, his mind racing. Somewhere from the depths of his memory he could remember the huge furore over the young lad's disappearance but seeing as it all happened at the same time as his daughter's funeral, it wasn't really his priority.

"What do you mean, he went 'missing'? Did Nathaniel Rouse have something to do with this?"

Portia nodded, finally locking eyes with the Deputy Director.

"Yes, it was his fault Denny died. He killed him. And he's going to kill us too."

She looked away, drawing her knees up to her chest as the tears almost entirely choked her voice away.

"He blames us. We didn't stop him. He's going to kill us all."

oo00oo

Temperance Brennan felt like she was floating in a suit of cotton wool. Everything felt slightly fuzzy.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, desperately trying to focus on anything she could. It was all just a sea of blurry beige shapes. Blinking rapidly, she shook her head, groaning with regret at the sudden throbbing that erupted behind her right eye.

A large shape appeared above her, a familiar vibe to it. Narrowing her eyes and squinting, she cocked her head to one side.

"Booth?"

The charm smile was the first thing she truly managed to focus on.

_That damn smile always makes me melt… _

He was saying something but his voice was so far away, buried behind the mounds of cotton wool that were currently padding her brain. Brennan's eyes fell on the drip in her arm with a heavy sigh.

"Morphine…"

Beside her, Booth nodded with a grin. Slowly, his voice became clearer in her ears.

"…so don't be enjoying it too much, little lady."

"I feel… fuzzy."

He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Fuzzy? Is that the technical term, _Doctor_ Brennan?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Shut up."

He grinned and she realised just how tightly he was holding her hand.

_It feels nice, really nice… Booth's holding my hand. That's nice. That's too nice…_

Her eyes sliding shut as she fought the remnants of the anaesthetic, she felt Booth move beside her. Opening her eyes again, she found him leaning right over her as he laid a gentle kiss on her forehead. She smiled, breathing in deep lungfuls of his clean, crisp scent.

As he pulled away slightly, she found herself drowning in the pools of his eyes.

"I'm glad you're back, Bones."

She felt a slow smile spread across her features.

"Like I'd ever leave you."

The relief in his eyes was clear to see, even with Brennan's drug-addled brain being pulled deeper and deeper in to her partner's eyes.

_They're just so… chocolaty. Oh, Booth… Chocolate Booth… _

She felt him edging closer, could feel herself leaning in towards him, desperate for the connection she knew she'd find there.

It was only when he froze before her eyes that she realised she'd spoken.

"If I ever left you, you'd only go and get yourself shot or something…"

He stared at her, his eyes glazed with fear.

_Uh oh, wrong move Tempe…_

"Booth, are you ok?"

Her voice, still thick with sleep, seemed to jerk him back to the real world.

"I need to tell you something."

"Anything. You can tell me anything. That's what partners are for, right?"

He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. Shifting to perch beside her on the edge of the bed, he clasped his hands around her own and gently kissed her fingers. Ignoring the shivering sensation down her spine, Brennan waited for whatever it was that he had to tell her.

Eventually, he flicked his eyes back up to hers though he couldn't hold her gaze for long.

"I… When Nate shot you, it was my fault. I'm the reason you're here, Temperance, and I am so, so sorry. God, if I could change what happened I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Brennan frowned, attempting to drag up her memories from the last few hours to examine them but they were lost in the fog of morphine.

"Why are you telling me this, Booth?"

He sighed, shrugging slightly as he paused.

"Because it's the right thing to do, I think. It's my fault that this happened, it's my fault you nearly died, so I need to face up to the consequences."

"The consequences? And what, you think they'll come from me?"

He just stared at her and she could see the pain and guilt in his eyes.

"Booth, you've always tried to protect me, even when I didn't want you to. This time was no different. You were trying to save me. The only consequence you'll get me from me is my thanks, my friendship and my support."

He stared at her, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

"But I -"

She cut him off with a wave of her hand and a harsh glare.

"Booth, I swear if you give me one more 'I should have protected you' speech, I'm going to wrap this tube around your neck and choke you to death with it."

He smirked at her as he rolled his eyes.

"You seriously think you can take me? You're high on morphine."

"Yeah, and it feels good... But I'd still kick your ass up and down these halls though, and you know it."

He stared at her incredulously for a moment before finally nodding.

"You know, you're probably right."

Laughing heartily as the morphine slowly faded, Temperance Brennan watched her partner slowly begin to relax. She knew he was always going to feel guilty about what happened and that he was probably going to be ridiculously overprotective for a while, but it didn't matter. She was going to stay beside him and support him, just like he was always there supporting her.

_That's what you do for the people you care about. That's what you do for the people you love._

Clutching his hand and feeling him squeeze her fingers reassuringly, Brennan knew they were both going to be just fine.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I did warn you not to expect anything good... To be honest, I wrote this while watching Jackass which, let's face it, is not an atmosphere really ideal for writing... See you soon folks. I promise it's nearly all over!**


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